England batter Ollie Pope and India all-rounder Shardul Thakur have made notable gains in the ICC Men’s Test Player Rankings after fine performances in the fourth Test of their ICC World Test Championship series played at The Oval.

Pope’s first innings knock of 82 has helped him advance nine slots to 49th position among batters while Thakur’s two half-centuries have lifted him a good 59 places to 79th position. Thakur has also moved up seven places to 49th in the bowlers’ list after finishing with four wickets in the match.

India opener Rohit Sharma remains fifth but his match-winning 127 in the second innings sees him increase the lead over captain Virat Kohli from seven to 30 rating points while fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah is up from 10th to ninth after finishing with two wickets in each innings of the match.

England Cricket Board (ECB) has announced the schedule of the men’s team for next summer, which kickstarts with a three-match Test series against New Zealand, scheduled to be played at Lord’s (June 2-6) followed by encounters at Trent Bridge (June 10-14) and Headingley (June 23-27).

New Zealand Tests would be followed by six white-ball games – three T20Is and as many ODIs – against visitors India. The series starts on July 1 with the first T20I, followed by encounters at Trent Bridge and Ageas Bowl on July 3 and 6, respectively. The subsequent ODI series would be played with matches at Edgbaston, the Kia Oval and Lord’s on July 9, 12 and 14, respectively.

Later, England is set to host South Africa for a full-fledged series comprising three Tests, and as many ODIs and T20Is. The ODIs will be played at Riverside, Old Trafford and Headingley on July 19, 22 and 24, before the T20Is at Bristol, Sophia Gardens and the Ageas Bowl between July 27 and 31. The following Test series gets underway at Lord’s (August 17-21) before fixtures at Edgbaston (August 25-29) and The Oval (September 8-12).

Pakistan Cricket Board .