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Cummins joins elite, Smith rises in new ICC Test rankings

Fast bowler equals best-ever Australian bowler ranking while Steve Smith narrows gap to top of the batting rankings

Pat Cummins has equalled the best-ever ICC Test ranking for an Australian bowler while Steve Smith has regained second spot on the batting charts following their efforts in the drawn Lord's Ashes Test.

Cummins extended his lead as the world's top-ranked Test bowler and moved into upper echelon of greats on the all-time ranking list after taking six wickets at Lord's.

Cummins added 16 points to his Test bowler ranking which moved him to 914 – a new personal best and a tally that puts him equal with Glenn McGrath as the highest ranking an Australian bowler has ever held.

Image Id: 429F1CFA4EA346768727908FBC0D8CF1 Image Caption: Glenn McGrath salutes his 5-43 at The Oval in 2001 // Getty

McGrath achieved his 914-point ranking in 2001 following a five-wicket haul at The Oval in England's second innings. That was the final Test of that winter's Ashes series as Australia secured a 4-1 series result – the last time an Australian men's team won the Ashes in England.

McGrath and Cummins are joint fifth on the all-time Test bowling list, with England's Sydney Barnes holding top spot with 932 ranking points achieved in 1914.

Smith struck 92 at Lord's to go with the twin tons he posted in the first Test at Edgbaston, and now sits just nine points away from reclaiming the World No.1 title from Virat Kohli.

Brave Smith retires, returns, falls for 92 in thrilling duel

Smith had scored 80 at Lord's before he was forced to retire hurt after copping a Jofra Archer short-ball to the neck.

He bravely returned to add 12 more runs before he was dismissed in sight of what would have been a record-breaking fourth consecutive Ashes century on English soil – and then later became Test cricket's first concussion substitute when he was ruled out of play on the final day.

Smith's runs at Lord's took his Ashes series tally to 378 runs from three innings and saw him add 10 points to his world ranking to give him a total of 913 ranking points.

India captain Kohli remained steady on 922 points ahead of his return to action in the five-day format on Thursday when India face the West Indies in Antigua for the first of two Tests.

David Warner's run of low scores has seen him drop out of the top 10 ranking to fall four spots to 11.

Travis Head, the leading run-scorer in Test cricket for the 2019 calendar year, moved up two spots to now be ranked 18th, while Marnus Labuschagne – who hit 59 in Australia's second innings as Smith's concussion substitute – jumped 16 spots and is ranked 82nd.

England captain Joe Root fell from sixth to ninth, dropping 31 ranking points. Ben Stokes is England's next highest ranked batsman, at 26th, having moved up six spots following his day five century at Lord's.

Jofra Archer's debut which garnered many headlines and a match return of 5-91 saw him break into the Test rankings at No.83.

Outside of the Ashes, Sri Lanka captain Dimuth Karunaratne moved into the top 10 to climb four spots to No.8 – the highest ranking he has held in a seven-year Test career – on the back of his fourth-innings 122 that saw his side beat New Zealand in Galle on Sunday.

Kane Williamson dropped 26 ranking points to fall behind Smith and now sits six points ahead of fourth-placed Indian Cheteshwar Pujara.

2019 Qantas Ashes Tour of England

Australia squad: Tim Paine (c), Cameron Bancroft, Pat Cummins, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Michael Neser, James Pattinson, Peter Siddle, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade, David Warner.

England squad: Joe Root (c), Moeen Ali, Jimmy Anderson, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Joe Denly, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes (vc), Olly Stone, Chris Woakes.

First Test: Australia beat England by 251 runs at Edgbaston

Second Test: Match drawn at Lord's

Third Test: August 22-26, Headingley

Tour match: Australians v Derbyshire, August 29-31

Fourth Test: September 4-8, Old Trafford

Fifth Test: September 12-16, The Oval