ICC Test Rankings: Ben Stokes Dethrones Jason Holder As World's Number One Test All-Rounder

England's premier all-rounder Ben Stokes became the first English cricketer since Andrew Flintoff to reach the pinnacle of the ICC Men's Test Player Rankings for all-rounders.

Ben Stokes (Image: Getty)

England Test deputy skipper Ben Stokes overtook Windies skipper Jason Holder to become the Number One Test all-rounder in the latest updates of the ICC rankings released on Tuesday. Stokes attain the top spot in the all-round category on the back of his stellar performances with both the willow and red cherry in England's dominant 113-run victory over the West Indies at the Old Trafford Test in Manchester. Stokes' won the man of the match in the England's series-leveling win over the Windies courtesy his match haul of 254 runs and three wickets in the second Test on Monday. Stokes, who trailed the Windies ace all-rounder Holder by 54 rating points going into the second Test in Manchester, now stands atop the Test all-rounder standing with a 38 points lead over his Windies counterpart.

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Ben Stokes is the new No.1 all-rounder ???? He is the first England player since Flintoff to be at the top of the @MRFWorldwide ICC Men's Test Player Rankings for all-rounders. Full rankings: https://t.co/AIR0KN4yY5 pic.twitter.com/viRzJzuGiC — ICC (@ICC) July 21, 2020

Stokes also became the first England cricketer since Andrew Flintoff to reach the pinnacle of the ICC Men's Test Player Rankings for all-rounders. Among the Test batsmen, Stokes is joint-third with Australian 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. There was some more good news for England as opener Dom Sibley, who scored 120 in the first innings in Manchester win, jumped 29 places to No.35 in the rankings, while the experienced seamer Stuart Broad capped his Test return with a four spot rise to get back into the top 10 in the bowlers’ ranking. Stuart Broad, who was overlooked for the opening Test at Southampton, 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.