Absent Smith top of world

BANNED Australian batsman Steve Smith has remarkably reclaimed top spot in the ICC Test batting rankings from India’s Virat Kohli despite not having played since March and being out for 12 months.

Smith was suspended for a year and stripped of the captaincy by Cricket Australia following his part in the infamous ball-tampering scandal against South Africa, but his ranking points have not changed.

Kohli had taken the No.1 place after scoring 200 runs in his team’s first-Test defeat by England, but slipped back.