Joe Root tops ICC Test batting ranking after cruel England defeat to Pakistan

England batsman Joe Root has returned to the top of the ICC Test batting rankings after leapfrogging Australia captain Steven Smith. Root, 24, scored 88 and 71 in the defeat to Pakistan in Dubai, a match which also saw him become the seventh fastest England player to reach 3000 career runs in the longest form of the game.

Root is joined in the top five by Younis Khan, who became Pakistan's highest Test match run scorer and passed 9,000 runs in Dubai where he scored 56 and 118 to guide his side to victory in the second Test. Misbah-ul-Haq and Asad Shafiq have also moved up to 11<sup>th and 12<sup>th respectively.

Spinner Yasir Shah, who took the final wicket of Adi Rashid to gift Pakistan the win with 39 balls remaining on day five, has soared to second in the bowling standings after taking eight wickets in the match. Shah has gone above England pair James Anderson and Stuart Broad, as well as New Zealand's Trent Boult and is only behind South Africa seamer Dale Steyn.

In the Test team standings, the ICC have confirmed that Pakistan will rise to world number two should they beat England in the third Test in Sharjah starting on Sunday [1 November]. They will join Australia on 106 points should they go on to win the series 2-0, but only a win for England will see them retain their pre-series ranking of third.

Alastair Cook's side suffered the most agonising of defeats to Pakistan, falling short of saving the game with a second innings rearguard inspired by Adil Rashid and Mark Wood's partnership, the longest ninth wicket stand by any international pair in the fourth innings of a Test. Cook has seen evidence England have the character to mount a comeback however and is confident his team can picked themselves up in time to square the series.

"What we can take from these two games going into Sharjah is knowing that we are competing very hard with Pakistan," Cook said. "A bit more of this, bit more of that, it would have been a different situation.

"We will have a couple of days off and then we will go there and try and win that game. There is no reason why we can't if we play right to the top of our ability. Hopefully we can put Pakistan under pressure, like we did at the end in Abu Dhabi when they folded, in Sharjah. Hopefully win the toss and get ahead of the game rather than play catch up."