England captain Joe Root returns to top 10 of ICC batting rankings after double century

Virat Kohli remains No 1, with Steve Smith in at No 2

Joe Root is back among the elite batsmen in the world (Getty)

England captain Joe Root has returned to the top 10 of the ICC Test batting rankings after his double century in the second match against New Zealand.

Root dropped out of the top 10 for the first time since August 2014 a week ago after scores of two and 11 in the first-Test defeat to the Black Caps.

However, Root’s absence from the top 10 has proved to be short lived as he has climbed to seventh following his 226 in the drawn second Test which confirmed England’s series defeat.

At the top of the rankings, Virat Kohli has reclaimed the number-one position from Australia’s Steve Smith after the India captain’s recent century against Bangladesh.

Rory Burns has climbed to 36th and is now the fourth-highest England player, having become his country’s first opener to score centuries in home and away Tests since Sir Alastair Cook. Chris Woakes has moved into the top 10 of the all-rounder category after returning for the second Test and taking four wickets in Hamilton.

ICC Batting Rankings

1. Virat Kohli – 928

2. Steve Smith – 923

3. Kane Williamson – 877

4. Cheteshwar Pujara – 791

5. David Warner – 764

6. Ajinkya Rahane – 759

7. Joe Root – 752

8. Marnus Labuschagne - 731

9. Henry Nicholls – 726

10. Dimuth Karunaratne – 723