Bay of Plenty cricketer Kane Williamson could soon find himself on top of the world if he continues his rich vein of form in the current test series against Australia.

The Black Caps top order batsman has posted centuries at the Gabba and Waca and has moved up to joint-second with Australian skipper Steve Smith on the ICC's test batting rankings.

Williamson is now joint-second behind South Africa's AB de Villiers. Photo: File.

South Africa's AB de Villiers remains on top of the table with 899 points – but Tauranga-born Kane and Steve are just six points behind on 893.

Another batsman who has made strides up the table is Aussie opener David Warner.

The left-hander climbed two places to number five after a knock of 253 in Perth.

All three batsmen are in great form going into the series final at Adelaide Oval for the inaugural day-night test with the pink ball on November 27.

Also making his way up the rankings is Black Caps batsman Ross Taylor.

The right-handed batsman struck a superb 290 in the last test – the highest test score by a visiting player to Australia – to jump from 17th spot to 10.

ICC TEST BATTING RANKINGS:

1 - AB de Villiers (South Africa) - 899

2 - Steve Smith (Australia), Kane Williamson (New Zealand) - 893

4 - Joe Root (England) - 886

5 - David Warner (Australia) - 880