New Zealand fast bowler Matt Henry has climbed to the top of the ICC Men's Test bowling rankings after a memorable outing in the second Test against England at The Oval.
Henry's match figures of 11 for 109 helped New Zealand secure a 253-run victory and draw the series 1-1 with one game left to play, while also earning him a career-best rating of 870 points.
Henry's spells of 5-80 and 6-29 were also his best figures across a Test, and also the best by a New Zealand bowler against England.
The right-arm seamer now shares the No. 1 position with India's Jasprit Bumrah, who had held the top spot outright since November 2024.
Henry's tally of 870 rating points is the second-highest achieved by a New Zealand bowler, behind only Sir Richard Hadlee's peak of 909 points in 1985. His rise ends a 36-year-long wait for New Zealand, making him only the third Kiwi bowler to reach the summit of the Test bowling rankings after Jack Cowie in 1947 and Richard Hadlee, who dominated the rankings between 1984 and 1990.
Joe Root moves to the top of the batting charts
The latest rankings update also brought a change at the top of the batting charts, with England's Joe Root reclaiming the No. 1 position.
Root's scores of 46 and 77 at The Oval saw him move ahead of teammate Harry Brook and Australia's Travis Head. It marks the 12th time Root has occupied the top spot in the Test batting rankings. Root, who became the second batter to score 14,000 runs in the format during the course of the Test, is 1,846 runs away from surpassing Sachin Tendulkar's all-time record.
Root and Brook have exchanged the No. 1 ranking multiple times over the last 18 months, continuing a battle for supremacy that began after Root overtook New Zealand great Kane Williamson at the top of the list.
Several New Zealand batters also enjoyed significant gains following the Oval Test. Glenn Phillips moved up eight places to 31st after his century, while fellow centurion Henry Nicholls jumped 13 spots to 40th. Rachin Ravindra also returned to the top 10 after another productive outing with the bat.
Among the other movers in the bowling rankings, England's Jofra Archer climbed six places to 50th, while all-rounder Jacob Bethell made a substantial leap of 29 spots to reach 85th position.
Latest ICC men's Test rankings
Batting
| Position | Player | Country | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joe Root | England | 871 |
| 2 | Harry Brook | England | 866 |
| 3 | Travis Head | Australia | 853 |
| 4 | Steve Smith | Australia | 831 |
| 5 | Kamindu Mendis | Sri Lanka | 781 |
| 6 | Temba Bavuma | South Africa | 775 |
| 7 | Shubman Gill | India | 743 |
| 8 | Yashasvi Jaiswal | India | 733 |
| 9 | Dinesh Chandimal | Sri Lanka | 717 |
| 10 | Rachin Ravindra | New Zealand | 715 |
Bowling
| Position | Player | Team | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Matt Henry | New Zealand | 870 |
| =1 | Jasprit Bumrah | India | 870 |
| 3 | Mitchell Starc | Australia | 838 |
| 4 | Pat Cummins | Australia | 832 |
| 5 | Marco Jansen | South Africa | 825 |
| 6 | Scott Boland | Australia | 820 |
| 7 | Noman Ali | Pakistan | 817 |
| 8 | Kagiso Rabada | South Africa | 807 |
| 9 | Josh Hazlewood | Australia | 775 |
| 10 | Nathan Lyon | Australia | 753 |
All-rounder
| Position | Player | Team | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ravindra Jadeja | India | 446 |
| 2 | Marco Jansen | South Africa | 344 |
| 3 | Mehidy Hasan Miraz | Bangladesh | 290 |
| 4 | Mitchell Starc | Australia | 284 |
| 5 | Ben Stokes | England | 282 |
| 6 | Pat Cummins | Australia | 250 |
| 7 | Gus Atkinson | England | 248 |
| 8 | Wiaan Mulder | South Africa | 245 |
| 9 | Washington Sundar | India | 244 |
| 10 | Joe Root | England | 210 |
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