The latest rankings see Williamson leapfrog England’s Joe Root and India’s Virat Kohli after scoring 130 runs in his country’s first-Test draw against South Africa in Dunedin last week.

Williamson, who was ranked number one in November and December 2015, is now on 869 points.

That puts him 21 points ahead of third-placed Root, but he is still 67 points adrift of table leader Steve Smith with the Australian on 936.

South Africa’s Dean Elgar is another batsman to make significant gains after his innings of 140 and 89.

The left-handed opener has moved up 10 places to reach a career-best ranking of 11th and is now just seven points behind team-mate AB de Villiers.

South Africa captain Faf de Plessis’s two half-centuries have seen him climb two spots to reach 19th position.

Sri Lanka batsman Kusal Mendis, meanwhile, has gained 16 places to reach 23^rd spot.

It comes after scores of 194 and 19 in his nation’s 259-run first-Test victory over Bangladesh in Galle, where he was named the player of the match following its conclusion on Saturday (March 11).

Fellow Sri Lankan Upul Tharanga’s first century on home soil has enabled him to move up nine places to 44th.

Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim has moved up six spots to 29th after scores of 85 and 34, while Soumya Sarkar’s two half-centuries in Galle have taken him up 25 places to 55^th.

The top 10 of the ICC Player Rankings for Test bowlers has remained unchanged, but Sri Lanka all-rounder Dilruwan Perera has moved up three slots to 14th rank after his five wickets in Galle.

Bangladesh spinner Mehedi Hasan’s six wickets have helped him rise four places to reach 36^th.

South Africa left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj’s haul of five for 94 in New Zealand’s only innings in Dunedin has helped him gain 13 places to reach 52nd spot.

Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan has conceded the top spot for all-rounders to India’s Ravichandran Ashwin, who he recently overtook.

Shakib has dropped 38 points and is now on 403, leaving him 31 behind Ashwin.