Smith recognised as the world's best

Steve Smith’s incredible purple patch has been recognised in the latest update to the ICC player rankings, with the Australian jumping to No.1 among the world’s Test batsmen after Australia wrapped up a clean sweep against West Indies in Jamaica overnight.

Smith was man of the match in the tourists’ second Test win, having made 199 and 54 not out in just his second match batting at No.3.

The first-innings century was his ninth in 17 matches, a stunning run that has included five hundreds in his past six Tests after he completely dominated Australia’s home summer against India.

Smith, who turned 26 last week, is the first Australian since Michael Clarke to top the Test rankings, a feat the skipper achieved during his golden period in 2012.

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Clarke is currently 14th in the rankings after missing three Tests last Australian summer, while David Warner retains his place in the top 10, at tenth.

Kumar Sangakkara, AB de Villiers, Hashim Amla and Angelo Mathews round out the top five respectively, followed by Younis Khan, Joe Root, Kane Williamson and Misbah-ul-Haq occupying spots six through nine.

Recovering opening batsman Chris Rogers, who missed the West Indies series after he was struck on the helmet and sustained concussion in the lead-up to the first Test, is Australia’s next highest ranked batsman, at 23, followed by Shane Watson (42), Brad Haddin (52) and Shaun Marsh (53).

After becoming the oldest player to record a century on Test debut, West Australian Adam Voges slots into 60th positon.

Among Australia’s bowling contingent, Ryan Harris’s absence from the Caribbean series sees him slip from third to fourth place, while Mitchell Johnson’s relatively quiet two Tests resulted in a drop from third to fourth.

Victoria paceman Peter Siddle, who was in the West Indies but hasn’t played a Test since last December, stays firm in 14th, as does Nathan Lyon in 18th.

NSW fast-bowling pair Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood both enjoyed excellent tours and their improvements have been reflected in their climbs to 21st and 27th spots respectively.

Mark Waugh, Australia’s selector on duty in the Caribbean, said the quality of Australia’s fast bowling group had created a pleasant headache ahead of the Ashes, with Harris primed to make his return.

"(Johnson) is still the head of the Australian attack but he's getting a lot of pressure from the younger guys, Hazlewood and Starc. They're bowling really well," Waugh said.

"He's probably dropped three of four (kilometres) from last year in pace, but that's wear and tear and playing a lot of cricket.

"But his record is still very good, his last 10 or so Test matches he's got 50-odd wickets.

"He's still very good in all conditions, particularly these sorts of pitches when he can just bang it in (with) that low sort of sliding action.

"So I think that's a good combination. You've got the experience of Johnson and the two young guns as well."

Despite the 2-0 series win, Australia are still well adrift of South Africa in the Test championship, while West Indies remain in eighth position.

Test Rankings - Teams

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Test Rankings - Batsmen

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Test Rankings - Bowlers

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Screenshots taken from the official ICC website