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Australian Marnus Labuschagne overtook English skipper Joe Root to become world number one batting number.
Image Credit: REUTERS
Sydney: Australian runner Marnus Labuschagne replaced England captain Joe Root to claim the world’s No. 1 test hitting spot after a streak of big scores in the ongoing Ashes series at home, the International Cricket Council said on Wednesday .
South Africa-born Labuschagne marked his sixth century of testing and followed it with a 51 in the second test in Adelaide to help Australia take a 2-0 lead in the five-game series against their rivals.
Root managed to score half a century in each of the first two tests and dropped to second on the test hitter list.
After narrowly losing to New Zealand for a place in this year’s inaugural World Trials final, Labuschagne said Australia’s eyes are not shaped just to win the Ashes.
“It doesn’t matter if we win the next one, our goal is to win every test match this summer,” he told reporters. “For us, that’s what the Test Championship has brought.
“Not just to win this series, you are also playing for something bigger than that.”
Labuschagne’s first four tests for Australia took place when the team was without the banned duo of David Warner and Steve Smith.
Azam reclaims first place
After making his debut three years ago against Pakistan, Labuschagne lost his place in the squad and only returned as a concussion substitute for Smith in the 2019 Ashes series in England.
The 27-year-old, who started the current series fourth, scored 74 in the hosts’ first victory in Brisbane and his 62.14 average is just behind Don Bradman’s legendary mark of 99.94 among those who hit in 20 or more innings. .
In the standings of the Twenty20 international hitters, Pakistani captain Babar Azam recovered first place on the list after only a week of defeat.
Babar is currently tied at the top of the standings with Englishman Dawid Malan.
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