England move up to third place in ICC Test rankings after Ashes win
England’s Ashes victory over Australia has seen them move into third place in the ICC Test Team rankings, up three places from sixth. Alastair Cook’s side registered a convincing 3-2 victory in the historic and highly competitive series, allowing them to leapfrog Pakistan, New Zealand and India.
The England team’s next assignment is to play a three match test series against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates from October 13 to November 5. Their opponents are just one point behind them in fourth place with 101 points, and a victory in all three tests for either side would see them move ahead of Australia even if the Aussies win against Bangladesh in October.
Australia maintain their second spot in the rankings but have dropped five points since the previous rankings due to their recent results, which sees them 19 points behind first-placed South Africa and just four points ahead of third-placed England.
India and Sri Lanka, who are currently involved in a test match series, occupy sixth and seventh spots respectively with a difference of only 5 points separating the two teams. The table will be updated again after the conclusion of the series.
| Country | Matches | Points |
| South Africa | 24 | 3008 |
| Australia | 32 | 3376 |
| England | 36 | 3686 |
| Pakistan | 24 | 2419 |
| New Zealand | 29 | 2875 |
| India | 23 | 2242 |
| Sri Lanka | 25 | 2307 |
| West Indies | 26 | 2101 |
| Bangladesh | 22 | 1026 |
| Zimbabwe | 10 | 53 |
Steve Smith and Dale Steyn top bowling and batting rankings
Steve Smith regained his number one spot in the ICC Test batting rankings after his splendid hundred in Australia’s victory in the final test of the Ashes against England at the Oval. His 143 made sure that he would jump from third place to first in the latest rankings, relinquishing the top spot from Joe Root after it was taken from him in the previous fortnight.
Smith endured a mixed series which saw him lose his top spot on two separate occasions - after his two scores of 33 in the first test in Cardiff, and after his low scores in the third and fourth tests of the series. AB de Villiers is in second place with 890 points, followed by Joe Root who has 889. Hashim Amla, Angelo Mathews, Younus Khan, Kumar Sangakkara, Kane Williamson, David Warner and Chris Rogers round off the remaining players in the top 10.
| Player | Country | Points |
| Steve Smith | Australia | 910 |
| AB de Villiers | South Africa | 890 |
| Joe Root | England | 889 |
| Hashim Amla | South Africa | 881 |
| Angelo Mathews | Sri Lanka | 867 |
| Younus Khan | Pakistan | 829 |
| Kumar Sangakkara | Sri Lanka | 827 |
| Kane Williamson | New Zealand | 813 |
| David Warner | Australia | 775 |
| Chris Rogers | Australia | 761 |
In the test bowling rankings, Dale Steyn is on top with 905 points. He is followed by the in-form Stuart Broad in second place, and Trent Boult from New Zealand in third. James Anderson and Mitchell Johnson take fifth and sixth spot after impressing in the Ashes, while Ravichandran Ashwin moved up to eight spot after his man of the match performance in his side’s recent thrashing of Sri Lanka.
| Player | Country | Points |
| Dale Steyn | South Africa | 905 |
| Stuart Broad | England | 835 |
| Trent Boult | New Zealand | 814 |
| Yasir Shah | Pakistan | 810 |
| James Anderson | England | 807 |
| Mitchell Johnson | Australia | 773 |
| Vernon Philander | South Africa | 770 |
| Ravichandran Ashwin | India | 769 |
| Rangana Herath | Sri Lanka | 748 |
| Tim Southee | New Zealand | 713 |