The Ashes: Australia's Labuschagne tops ICC Test batting rankings
Australia's Marnus Labuschagne has risen to number one in the ICC Test batting rankings.
Labuschagne made his Test debut for Australia in 2018 against Pakistan in Dubai. However, it was during the 2019 Ashes that the 27-year-old came to prominence.
He became the first player to be a concussion substitute in a Test match when he replaced Steve Smith in the second match at Lord's, after the former Australia captain had been struck on the back of the neck.
His resilient 59 helped Australia secure a draw and he was named in the line-up for the following Test and has not looked back since.
Labuschagne has averaged 62.14 from 20 Tests, and has scored 74, 0 (not out), 103 and 51 in his four innings in the 2021-22 Ashes as Australia cruised into a 2-0 lead.
He has hit six centuries, including one double-hundred against New Zealand in January 2020.
Labuschagne's career-high 912 rating points saw him leapfrog England captain Joe Root, who has had a brilliant 2021 when it comes to run-scoring, even if his side have struggled.
Indeed, Root has now scored 4,859 runs as England Test captain, surpassing the previous record set by Alastair Cook (4,844).
Steve Smith, Kane Williamson and India's new white-ball captain Rohit Sharma complete the top five.
Pakistan captain Babar Azam, meanwhile, has risen to the number one spot for T20I batsmen, though he is tied with England's Dawid Malan.
Mitchell Starc has bowled impressively in the Ashes so far and has moved into the top six for bowlers.
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