The International Cricket Council (ICC) reports that Australian Travis Head, who is now a strong candidate for first place, has risen to a career-high second place in the ICC Men's Test Batting Rankings. Only nine points separate him from Kane Williamson, who is presently ranked first. Similarly, Pakistani Babar Azam rose three spots to take third position in the standings.
Travis Head has been in outstanding form during the current Ashes series, amassing 373 runs at an average of 93.25. He is the series' top run-scorer with two century and two half-centuries to his credit. Babar Azam, on the other side, has also been effective, scoring 276 runs at an average of 69.33. He is the second-highest run-scorer in the series with a total of one century and two half-centuries.
If they are able to continue their strong play in the remaining games, Head and Azam both have a chance to take the top spot. Head will want to score a lot in the next two Ashes games, while Azam will try to score a lot in the two-game Test series against Sri Lanka.
The ICC Test batting rankings, which are revised following each Test match, take a player's performance over the previous 84 innings into account. The top-ranked player is regarded as the world's best Test batsman.
Babar Azam, the captain of Pakistan, rose three spots to third, according to the ICC, while Joe Root of England, Marnus Labuschagne of Australia, and Steve Smith of Australia all fell one spot. As a result, there is a thrilling race for first place in the rankings.