Following England’s decisive inning victory over Pakistan in Multan, Joe Root has achieved a career milestone by entering the ICC Test batting in the all-time top 20. England scored 823-7, their fourth-highest Test score, with career-best efforts from Root and Harry Brook (262 and 317, respectively).
Root, the world’s top Test hitter, saw his rating rise from 899 to 932, putting him 17th all-time. He is now one point behind Pakistan’s Mohammad Yousuf and is on track to break Yousuf’s record from 2006. Root has joined an elite group, overtaking noteworthy names such as Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers and just behind Steve Smith and Don Bradman since his 2012 debut.
Bradman still has the greatest batting rating ever (961, earned in 1948), while Smith is second with a 947 rating from 2017.
Meanwhile, Harry Brook’s career-best knock of 317 moved him into joint second place among current Test batters, behind Kane Williamson, with an 829 rating. Root also rose from fourth to third in the all-rounder rankings, but Shaheen Afridi fell four spots in the bowling rankings as Mitchell Starc entered the top ten.
