Matt Henry’s 11-wicket haul at The Oval has carried the New Zealander to joint-No.1 in the ICC Test bowling rankings, ending a 36-year wait for his country. He sits alongside India’s Jasprit Bumrah on 870 rating points. Joe Root, England’s stand-in captain for the match, used scores of 46 and 77 to reclaim top spot among Test batters.
“It’s pretty surreal,” Henry told reporters as he walked off with the match ball. “When you grow up in Canterbury you dream of playing Tests, not of matching Sir Richard Hadlee. I’m just happy the ball came out nicely this week.”
Key shifts at the top
• Henry joins Jack Cowie (1947) and Hadlee (1984-90) as the only New Zealanders to lead the Test bowling list.
• Root passes team-mate Harry Brook and Australia’s Travis Head to reach No.1 for the 12th time, five points clear.
The series is now 1-1, with the decider starting at Trent Bridge on Thursday. England coach Brendon McCullum played down the rankings chatter. “They’re lovely milestones,” he said, “but we’re all square and that’s what matters.”
New Zealand batting gains
Rachin Ravindra (33 and 76) nudged up two places to tenth, while Daryl Mitchell’s 44 and 68 lifted him five slots to 16th. Glenn Phillips jumped eight places to 31 after a brisk hundred, and Henry Nicholls climbed 13 to 40 thanks to his 121 in the second dig.
Analyst and former opener Mark Richardson reckons the spread of contributors is more important than any one ranking. “When five or six blokes are moving forward together, it usually means the side is heading in the right direction,” he noted on Radio Sport.
Gill surges in ODIs
Away from the World Test Championship, India swept Afghanistan 3-0 in the one-day series. Shubman Gill followed an unbeaten 84 with 154 to climb three spots to second among ODI batters. He now trails Mitchell by 24 points (815 to 791).
Gill kept his praise simple: “I’ve focused on batting deep. The runs look after themselves when you give yourself time.”
Left-arm seamer Arshdeep Singh collected five wickets in two outings and vaulted 16 places to 22nd on the ODI bowling chart.
T20I movers
Bangladesh’s three-match T20I series against Australia produced smaller but notable shifts. Australia captain Mitchell Marsh rose four places to ninth among T20I batters after scores of 60 and 33. Team-mate Nathan Ellis moved to seventh among T20I bowlers, three spots higher, with figures of 3 for 61 across the series.
Bangladesh coach Chandika Hathurusingha took the positives. “We matched them for long periods. The rankings tell you we’re heading in the right direction, even if the wins didn’t come this week.”
Context and outlook
Henry’s ascent ends New Zealand’s long wait for a bowler at the peak, a reminder that their pace depth remains enviable despite Trent Boult’s white-ball focus and Tim Southee’s advancing years. His natural length, allied to late seam movement, has transferred well from Basin Reserve to the Oval, and the numbers finally reflect it.
Root’s return to the summit is less of a surprise. Since 2021 he averages 57 in Tests; the rest of England’s top six sit in the low thirties. Trent Bridge, where he struck 180* against India three summers ago, offers another chance to press that advantage.
“If Joe bats for three hours, the rest of us can bat around him,” Brook said simply.
The rankings will reshuffle again next week, but the immediate issue is a live series and, for India and Australia, looming white-ball tournaments. As ever, the table is a snapshot rather than a verdict—though for Matt Henry, it is one to savour.
