England players made big gains in the latest Reliance ICC Test Player Rankings, which were released on Monday, a day after Alastair Cook's side won the second Ashes Test against Australia at Lord's by 347 runs. The heroes of England's win - Ian Bell and Joe Root with the bat, and Graeme Swann with the ball - were rewarded for their efforts with jumps in the latest rankings.
Bell, who won the ICC Emerging Cricketer of the Year Award in 2006, is now in 11th position in the Reliance ICC Test Player Rankings for Batsmen. A right-handed batsman, Bell made scores of 109 and 74 in the Lord's Test. England opener Root, who won the Player of the Match award for his 468-minute knock of 180, has moved up 21 places to 26th position. He is now the sixth England batsman inside the top 30. Jonny Bairstow is now just outside the top 50 in 53rd spot after rising 12 places after making scores of 67 and 20. The batting table is still headed by South Africa's Hashim Amla with West Indies Shivnarine Chanderpaul in second place and AB de Villiers in third position.
Meanwhile, in the Reliance ICC Test Player Rankings for Bowlers, James Anderson moved up one place to join Peter Siddle in fifth spot, and both the bowlers now trail fourth-placed Saeed Ajmal of Pakistan by 25 ratings points. England off-spinner Swann, has gained one place and is now seventh. South Africa's Dale Steyn continues to head the bowlers' table with team-mate Vernon Philander in second place and Sri Lanka's Rangana Herath in third position.