Root breaks into top five

DUBAI: England vice-captain Joe Root has broken into the top five for the first time in the ICC Player Rankings for Test Batsmen after producing a man of the match performance in the first Ashes Test against Australia in Cardiff.
Root, who scored 134 and 60 in England’s 169-run victory, jumped three places to claim the fourth position in the latest rankings which were released on Sunday morning.
In doing so, the Yorkshireman has leapfrogged Sri Lanka duo Kumar Sangakkara and Angelo Mathews as well as Younis Khan of Pakistan.
Root now has Hashim Amla firmly within his sights as he is now just seven points behind the South Africa captain after his Cardiff performance earned him 69 points to give him a career-high 884 points.
The Cardiff Test also saw Australia’s Steven Smith hand over the number-one position to South Africa’s AB de Villiers. Smith had entered the Test on 913 points but after scores of 33 and 33, he dropped 12 points to 901 points, seven behind de Villiers. De Villiers will miss the two-Test series against Bangladesh, which means a couple of strong performances would put the 26-year-old from Sydney back on top.
Moeen Ali achieved his career-best bowling ranking as his two for 71 and three for 59 lifted him nine places to 28th spot.
Thanks to his fine contribution with the bat and ball, Moeen also gained valuable places in the all-rounders’ category. He has broken into the top-10 in ninth position, jumping nine places.