Ben Stokes has climbed up to a career-high ninth in the ICC Test batting rankings, but England captain Joe Root has dropped out of the top 10 for the first time since August 2014.
Stokes, who has been nominated for the Sports Personality of the Year award, has scored the third-highest number of runs in 2019, behind only Australia's Steve Smith and India's Mayank Agarwal.
He is also third in the all-rounder rankings.
However, Root has slipped down the batting rankings after a disappointing year.
He has scored 548 runs from 10 Tests in 2019 with an average of 27.40. In England's first-Test innings defeat to New Zealand he scored two and 11.
Root, who was the world's top-ranked batsman in 2015, said blaming the captaincy, which he took over in July 2017, was an "easy excuse", but admitted his form has dropped.
"I've had a rough time in terms of scores," he said after the defeat to New Zealand. "I'm working hard. You have to go through a bit of a dip. The fact I'm captain, it's an easy excuse to use.
"I'm going to have to keep trusting my game... I must not overthink things and just try to find that rhythm which allows me to get my innings off and running."
After Root, the highest-ranked England batsman is Jos Buttler at 31.
Stokes to miss South Africa warm-up game
Stokes looks set to miss England's first warm-up game in South Africa next month, as he travels back to England to attend the Sports Personality of the Year show.
Stokes will fly back to South Africa on the first available flight the day after the event on December 16, and so could technically be available for the two-day game against a South African Invitational XI, but after more than 15 hours of travelling, it's thought England's coaches are likely to give him some time to rest.
It's much more likely Stokes will first feature in the three-day game against South Africa A, starting on December 20.
Sky Sports News understands ECB officials discussed with head coach Chris Silverwood what was best for Stokes and the England team, before giving permission for him to travel back to the UK.
Watch day one of the second Test between New Zealand and England from 9.30pm, Thursday on Sky Sports Cricket.