ICC rankings: Ben Stokes becomes number one all-rounder in Tests
Jul 21, 2020
Dubai [UAE], July 21 : England's Ben Stokes on Tuesday dethroned Jason Holder to become the number one all-rounder in the Test format.
Stokes had produced a match-winning performance against West Indies in the second Test to give England a 113-run win.
The England all-rounder, who trailed Holder by 54 rating points going into the second Test in Manchester, now enjoys a lead of 38 points after his performance in the second Test.
Stokes has ended Holder's 18-month reign at the top, becoming the first from England at the summit since Andrew Flintoff in May 2006.
His 497 rating points is the highest by any Test all-rounder since Jacques Kallis aggregated 517 in April 2008.
The left-handed batsman now has 497 points in the all-rounder rankings, while second-placed Jason Holder has 459 points.
In the second Test, Ben Stokes was named as Man of the Match. For England, the second Test win was laid on Stokes' immense all-round haul of 254 runs and three wickets, including the key wicket of Jermaine Blackwood on the stroke of tea on the final day of the match.
The left-handed batsman had played a knock of 176 in the first innings, while in the second, he scored a quickfire 78 not out from just 57 balls.
As a result of this batting performance, Stokes has also gained the number three spot in the ICC Test batsmen rankings.
Among batsmen, Stokes is joint-third with Marnus Labuschagne, only behind Steve Smith and Virat Kohli and with specialist batsmen like Kane Williamson and Babar Azam below him in the list.
His captain Joe Root is ninth while opener Dom Sibley has advanced 29 places to a career-best 35th position after a sturdy first innings 120.
Stuart Broad, who was not picked for the opening Test, returned to the top 10 after claiming three wickets in each innings. He is now England's top-ranked bowler, one slot ahead of James Anderson, who dropped to 11th after being rested for the match.
Chris Woakes, who scalped five in the match to reach the 100-wicket mark, is in 21st position, his highest since late 2016.
