Dubai, 10 March 2008
NZ captain shines with bat and ball to move up to second in LG ICC Player Rankings for Test all-rounders; England without a bowler in top 10 for first time since 2005
New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori has reasonable claim to the title of best number eight batsman in the history of Test cricket as the 29-year-old continues to excel with both bat and ball.
Vettori, who has two Test centuries to his name and averages a respectable 27.12, has moved up four places to a career-high 26th position in the LG ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen on 608 ratings points, the best rating by a regular number eight batsman in the history of the game.
The Black Caps’ skipper scored 88 and 35 in the first Test against England , which concluded on Sunday, helping his side to a comprehensive 189-run win at Hamilton . Apart from his batting heroics, Vettori also bowled a marathon 70 overs in the match, conceding just 104 runs in total and taking three big wickets (Kevin Pietersen, Andrew Strauss and Paul Collingwood).
In the process, Vettori has risen two places in the LG ICC Player Rankings for Test bowlers and is back into the top 20 at 19th place. And to cap off a truly all-round effort, he has risen one place in the LG ICC Player Rankings for Test all-rounders and is now in second place behind South Africa ’s Jacques Kallis having leapfrogged Andrew Flintoff of England .
It was also a good match for former New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming whose knocks of 41 and 66 helped him progress three places to 13th in the batting rankings, a personal best rating and the highest ranking since 1997 for the man from Christchurch , who celebrates his 35th birthday on 1 April.
Pietersen, Alistair Cook and Collingwood all lost ground in the top 20 batsmen with only Ian Bell (up one place to 19th) making any move in the right direction for England following his unbeaten half-century in the second innings. Kumar Sangakkara of Sri Lanka still heads the list with Mike Hussey of Australia in second and Ricky Ponting and Kallis sharing third.
Left-arm slow bowler Monty Panesar has slipped out of the top 20 in the bowling rankings and Matthew Hoggard is out of the top 10 to 11th spot, which means that England no longer has a top 10 bowler for the first time since 2005.
That said, Ryan Sidebottom is in fine form of late and will be aiming to change all that. His match figures of 10-139, including a hat-trick, was a career best for the 30-year-old Nottinghamshire left-arm seamer and has flung him up 13 places to 31st position. It is one of the few things for England to cheer about at present.
Kyle Mills is the other main mover after the Hamilton Test as he has gained 15 places to 33rd spot. On current form, both Mills and Sidebottom are likely to break into the top 30 at some stage during this three-match series.
Sri Lanka ’s Muttiah Muralidaran is still out in front at the top of the LG ICC Player Rankings for Test bowlers as the only man with more than 900 ratings points. But Dale Steyn of South Africa is hot on his heels, just 14 ratings points behind in second place with Stuart Clark of Australia a good bit further back in third.
LG ICC Test Rankings (as of 10 March)
Batsmen
Rank (+/-) Player Team Points Ave HS Rating
1 ( - ) K.C.Sangakkara SL 933 56.37 938 v Eng at Kandy 2007
2 ( - ) Mike Hussey Aus 912*! 78.14 912 v Ind at Adelaide 2008
3= ( - ) Ricky Ponting Aus 899 58.53 942 v Eng at Adelaide 2006
( - ) Jacques Kallis SA 899 57.78 935 v NZ at Centurion 2007
5 ( - ) Mhd Yousuf Pak 880 55.49 933 v WI at Karachi 2006
6 ( - ) Matthew Hayden Aus 860 53.51 935 v Eng at Brisbane 2002
7 ( - ) M.Jayawardena SL 835 51.93 836 v Eng at Birmingham 2002
8 ( - ) S.Chanderpaul WI 816 47.31 838 v SA at Cape Town 2008
9 (+1) Younis Khan Pak 799 49.14 856 v Eng at Leeds 2006
10 (-1) Kevin Pietersen Eng 777 49.54 909 v WI at Leeds 2007
11 ( - ) Michael Clarke Aus 744 46.45 761 v Ind at Melbourne 2007
12 ( - ) S.R.Tendulkar Ind 737 55.57 898 v Zim at Nagpur 2002
13 (+3) Stephen Fleming NZ 721 ! 39.89 721 v Eng at Hamilton 2008
14 ( - ) Graeme Smith SA 706 48.54 756 v NZ at Wellington 2004
15 ( - ) Rahul Dravid Ind 704 55.11 892 v Pak at Kolkata 2005
16 (-3) Alastair Cook Eng 689 44.15 711 v SL at Galle 2007
17 ( - ) Ashwell Prince SA 687 42.72 756 v Pak at Centurion 2007
18 ( - ) VVS Laxman Ind 679 44.20 753 v Aus at Sydney 2004
19 (+1) Ian Bell Eng 671 43.18 684 v SL at Kandy 2007
20= (-1) P.D.Collingwood Eng 656 42.43 730 v Aus at Adelaide 2006
(+1) Andrew Symonds Aus 656* 41.24 666 v Ind at Perth 2008
Bowlers
Rank (+/-) Player Team Points Ave Econ HS Rating
1 ( - ) M.Muralidaran SL 907 21.77 920 v Ban at Kandy 2007
2 ( - ) Dale Steyn SA 893 ! 21.80 893 v Ban at Chittagong 2008
3 ( - ) Stuart Clark Aus 829* 21.88 843 v Ind at Perth 2008
4 ( - ) Brett Lee Aus 795 ! 29.97 795 v Ind at Adelaide 2008
5 ( - ) Makhaya Ntini SA 754 27.96 863 v Ind at Durban 2006
6 ( - ) Anil Kumble Ind 738 28.86 859 v SL at Bangalore 1994
7 ( - ) Shane Bond NZ 702* 22.39 778 v WI at Auckland 2006
8 (+1) Shoaib Akhtar Pak 684 25.69 855 v NZ at Wellington 2003
9 (+1) Chaminda Vaas SL 666 29.43 800 v Ind at Chennai 2005
10 (+1) Corey Collymore WI 653* 32.30 700 v Eng at Lord's 2007
11 (-3) M’thew Hoggard Eng 650 30.50 795 v SL at Birmingham 2006
12 (+2) Chris Martin NZ 640 31.93 643 v Eng at Lord's 2004
13 ( - ) Zaheer Khan Ind 638 33.60 689 v Pak at Delhi 2007
14 (-2) Andrew Flintoff Eng 634 32.02 810 v Pak at Multan 2005
15 ( - ) Mohammad Asif Pak 619* 23.13 710 v SA at Cape Town 2007
16 ( - ) Danish Kaneria Pak 614 33.90 723 v Eng at Multan 2005
17 (+1) Irfan Pathan Ind 608 31.41 761 v SL at Delhi 2005
18 (-1) James Franklin NZ 606* 28.19 679 v SL at Christchurch 2006
19 (+2) Daniel Vettori NZ 590 34.22 681 v Aus at Auckland 2000
20 ( - ) Jacques Kallis SA 586 30.91 742 v Eng at Leeds 2003
All-rounders
Rank (+/-) Player Team Points HS Rating
1 ( - ) Jacques Kallis SA 527 616 v Pak at Durban 2002
2 (+1) Daniel Vettori NZ 359! 359 v Eng at Hamilton 2008
3 (-1) Andrew Flintoff Eng 333 501 v Pak at Multan 2005
4 ( - ) Chaminda Vaas SL 276 281 v Ind at Chennai 2005
5 ( - ) Irfan Pathan Ind 259*/ 317 v Eng at Mohali 2006
NZ captain shines with bat and ball to move up to second in LG ICC Player Rankings for Test all-rounders; England without a bowler in top 10 for first time since 2005
New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori has reasonable claim to the title of best number eight batsman in the history of Test cricket as the 29-year-old continues to excel with both bat and ball.
Vettori, who has two Test centuries to his name and averages a respectable 27.12, has moved up four places to a career-high 26th position in the LG ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen on 608 ratings points, the best rating by a regular number eight batsman in the history of the game.
The Black Caps’ skipper scored 88 and 35 in the first Test against England , which concluded on Sunday, helping his side to a comprehensive 189-run win at Hamilton . Apart from his batting heroics, Vettori also bowled a marathon 70 overs in the match, conceding just 104 runs in total and taking three big wickets (Kevin Pietersen, Andrew Strauss and Paul Collingwood).
In the process, Vettori has risen two places in the LG ICC Player Rankings for Test bowlers and is back into the top 20 at 19th place. And to cap off a truly all-round effort, he has risen one place in the LG ICC Player Rankings for Test all-rounders and is now in second place behind South Africa ’s Jacques Kallis having leapfrogged Andrew Flintoff of England .
It was also a good match for former New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming whose knocks of 41 and 66 helped him progress three places to 13th in the batting rankings, a personal best rating and the highest ranking since 1997 for the man from Christchurch , who celebrates his 35th birthday on 1 April.
Pietersen, Alistair Cook and Collingwood all lost ground in the top 20 batsmen with only Ian Bell (up one place to 19th) making any move in the right direction for England following his unbeaten half-century in the second innings. Kumar Sangakkara of Sri Lanka still heads the list with Mike Hussey of Australia in second and Ricky Ponting and Kallis sharing third.
Left-arm slow bowler Monty Panesar has slipped out of the top 20 in the bowling rankings and Matthew Hoggard is out of the top 10 to 11th spot, which means that England no longer has a top 10 bowler for the first time since 2005.
That said, Ryan Sidebottom is in fine form of late and will be aiming to change all that. His match figures of 10-139, including a hat-trick, was a career best for the 30-year-old Nottinghamshire left-arm seamer and has flung him up 13 places to 31st position. It is one of the few things for England to cheer about at present.
Kyle Mills is the other main mover after the Hamilton Test as he has gained 15 places to 33rd spot. On current form, both Mills and Sidebottom are likely to break into the top 30 at some stage during this three-match series.
Sri Lanka ’s Muttiah Muralidaran is still out in front at the top of the LG ICC Player Rankings for Test bowlers as the only man with more than 900 ratings points. But Dale Steyn of South Africa is hot on his heels, just 14 ratings points behind in second place with Stuart Clark of Australia a good bit further back in third.
LG ICC Test Rankings (as of 10 March)
Batsmen
Rank (+/-) Player Team Points Ave HS Rating
1 ( - ) K.C.Sangakkara SL 933 56.37 938 v Eng at Kandy 2007
2 ( - ) Mike Hussey Aus 912*! 78.14 912 v Ind at Adelaide 2008
3= ( - ) Ricky Ponting Aus 899 58.53 942 v Eng at Adelaide 2006
( - ) Jacques Kallis SA 899 57.78 935 v NZ at Centurion 2007
5 ( - ) Mhd Yousuf Pak 880 55.49 933 v WI at Karachi 2006
6 ( - ) Matthew Hayden Aus 860 53.51 935 v Eng at Brisbane 2002
7 ( - ) M.Jayawardena SL 835 51.93 836 v Eng at Birmingham 2002
8 ( - ) S.Chanderpaul WI 816 47.31 838 v SA at Cape Town 2008
9 (+1) Younis Khan Pak 799 49.14 856 v Eng at Leeds 2006
10 (-1) Kevin Pietersen Eng 777 49.54 909 v WI at Leeds 2007
11 ( - ) Michael Clarke Aus 744 46.45 761 v Ind at Melbourne 2007
12 ( - ) S.R.Tendulkar Ind 737 55.57 898 v Zim at Nagpur 2002
13 (+3) Stephen Fleming NZ 721 ! 39.89 721 v Eng at Hamilton 2008
14 ( - ) Graeme Smith SA 706 48.54 756 v NZ at Wellington 2004
15 ( - ) Rahul Dravid Ind 704 55.11 892 v Pak at Kolkata 2005
16 (-3) Alastair Cook Eng 689 44.15 711 v SL at Galle 2007
17 ( - ) Ashwell Prince SA 687 42.72 756 v Pak at Centurion 2007
18 ( - ) VVS Laxman Ind 679 44.20 753 v Aus at Sydney 2004
19 (+1) Ian Bell Eng 671 43.18 684 v SL at Kandy 2007
20= (-1) P.D.Collingwood Eng 656 42.43 730 v Aus at Adelaide 2006
(+1) Andrew Symonds Aus 656* 41.24 666 v Ind at Perth 2008
Bowlers
Rank (+/-) Player Team Points Ave Econ HS Rating
1 ( - ) M.Muralidaran SL 907 21.77 920 v Ban at Kandy 2007
2 ( - ) Dale Steyn SA 893 ! 21.80 893 v Ban at Chittagong 2008
3 ( - ) Stuart Clark Aus 829* 21.88 843 v Ind at Perth 2008
4 ( - ) Brett Lee Aus 795 ! 29.97 795 v Ind at Adelaide 2008
5 ( - ) Makhaya Ntini SA 754 27.96 863 v Ind at Durban 2006
6 ( - ) Anil Kumble Ind 738 28.86 859 v SL at Bangalore 1994
7 ( - ) Shane Bond NZ 702* 22.39 778 v WI at Auckland 2006
8 (+1) Shoaib Akhtar Pak 684 25.69 855 v NZ at Wellington 2003
9 (+1) Chaminda Vaas SL 666 29.43 800 v Ind at Chennai 2005
10 (+1) Corey Collymore WI 653* 32.30 700 v Eng at Lord's 2007
11 (-3) M’thew Hoggard Eng 650 30.50 795 v SL at Birmingham 2006
12 (+2) Chris Martin NZ 640 31.93 643 v Eng at Lord's 2004
13 ( - ) Zaheer Khan Ind 638 33.60 689 v Pak at Delhi 2007
14 (-2) Andrew Flintoff Eng 634 32.02 810 v Pak at Multan 2005
15 ( - ) Mohammad Asif Pak 619* 23.13 710 v SA at Cape Town 2007
16 ( - ) Danish Kaneria Pak 614 33.90 723 v Eng at Multan 2005
17 (+1) Irfan Pathan Ind 608 31.41 761 v SL at Delhi 2005
18 (-1) James Franklin NZ 606* 28.19 679 v SL at Christchurch 2006
19 (+2) Daniel Vettori NZ 590 34.22 681 v Aus at Auckland 2000
20 ( - ) Jacques Kallis SA 586 30.91 742 v Eng at Leeds 2003
All-rounders
Rank (+/-) Player Team Points HS Rating
1 ( - ) Jacques Kallis SA 527 616 v Pak at Durban 2002
2 (+1) Daniel Vettori NZ 359! 359 v Eng at Hamilton 2008
3 (-1) Andrew Flintoff Eng 333 501 v Pak at Multan 2005
4 ( - ) Chaminda Vaas SL 276 281 v Ind at Chennai 2005
5 ( - ) Irfan Pathan Ind 259*/ 317 v Eng at Mohali 2006
ICC MEDIA RELEASE