Steve Smith has regained his place at the top of the ICC Test batting rankings following the final Ashes Test.

Australia's captain-in-waiting was briefly displaced by Joe Root earlier in the month, but a superb knock of 143 in his side's innings-and-46-run win in last week's dead rubber has seen him rise back above the England star.

Root could only manage scores of six and 11 at The Oval, and has therefore slipped to third - behind Smith and South Africa's AB de Villiers.

De Villiers' Test captain Hashim Amla and Sri Lanka's Angelo Mathews complete the top five.

Meanwhile, two retiring greats of the game, Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara and Australia's Michael Clarke, end their international careers in seventh and 25th places respectively.