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Manchester Heroics Helps Ben Stokes Overtake Jason Holder as Top Ranked All-rounder
England’s Ben Stokes almost single-handedly took his side to victory against the West Indies in Manchester with a century in the first innings, a half century in the second innings and a match haul of three wickets – all of which have pushed him above Jason Holder in the ICC’s latest rankings for all-rounders.
Stokes also achieved a career-best third rank among the batsmen after scoring 176 and 78* in the Test match at Old Trafford, Manchester.
England beat West Indies by 113 runs to level the three-match Test series at 1-1.
Stokes ended Holder’s 18-month reign at the top, becoming the first from England at the summit since Andrew Flintoff in May 2006.
Stokes is joint-third with Australia’s Marnus Labuschagne, only behind Steve Smith and Virat Kohli and with specialist batsmen like Kane Williamson and Babar Azam below him in the list.
His captain Joe Root is ninth while opener Dom Sibley has advanced 29 places to a career-best 35th position after a sturdy first innings 120.
Stuart Broad, who was not picked for the opening Test, returned to the top 10 after claiming three wickets in each innings. He is now England’s top-ranked bowler, one slot ahead of James Anderson, who dropped to 11th after being rested for the match. Chris Woakes, who scalped five in the match to reach the 100-wicket mark, is in 21st position, his highest since late 2016.