England right-hander now at career-best 13th in listing; Pietersen up to seventh spot
Steyn misses chance to go top of bowling ladder but Morkel into top 50; Anderson on brink of top 20 placing
Prince, MacKenzie and Amla all close to top 20 slots in the batting list
How the series result will affect the Reliance Mobile Test Championship table
Ian Bell has chimed into the top 20 of the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen.
The England right-hander rattled off a Test-best 199 in the drawn encounter with South Africa at Lord’s and that has seen him climb nine spots in the rankings to 13th place, alongside Sachin Tendulkar of India.
It is his highest-ever ranking and it means England now has three batsmen in the top 20 listings.
Highest-placed of the trio is Kevin Pietersen, whose 152 has seen him rise three spots to seventh position, his highest placing this year.
The other England player among that elite group is opener Andrew Strauss, slotting in at 17th in the list, a drop of one place for the left-hander.
South Africa still retains the top ranked batsman among the two sides, Jacques Kallis in sixth position, but the gap between him and Pietersen is a small one and there is every chance of the two swapping places if they repeat their Lord’s performances in the second match, at Headingley, starting on Friday.
Indeed, there is every chance of a ding-dong battle between the duo during the rest of this series to decide which of them is placed higher in the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings come the end of the fourth Test at The Oval.
Captain Graeme Smith, a centurion in the Lord’s Test with 107, is the other Proteas player among the top 20 batsmen, in 12th position, but he and Kallis could soon be joined by three team-mates.
Ashwell Prince, Neil McKenzie and Hashim Amla were all hundred-makers in London and they now sit in 21st, 24th and 26th positions respectively.
The batting list is still headed by Kumar Sangakkara of Sri Lanka, ahead of the West Indies’ Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Mike Hussey of Australia and his captain Ricky Ponting, along with Mohammad Yousuf of Pakistan, the latter two sharing fourth position.
Dale Steyn has missed an opportunity to topple Muttiah Muralidaran from the head of the Reliance Mobile Player Rankings for Test bowlers.
Steyn started the Lord’s Test within touching distance of the peak after an outstanding run of form but figures of 1-117 in the Test means he has slipped back and is now only just clear of Australia’s Stuart Clark, who occupies third position.
Ryan Sidebottom remains England’s highest-placed bowler, climbing one position to fifth slot, overtaking Makhaya Ntini (0-130 at Lord’s) in the process.
Monty Panesar holds firm in eleventh place while Andrew Flintoff, recalled to the England squad for the second Test, may well have a chance to improve on his 19th spot.
Just outside that top 20, England’s James Anderson continues to climb, up four places to 22nd position while further down the list, South Africa quick Morne Morkel has broken into the top 50 for the first time, up 10 places to 46th place after taking 4-121.
In the all-rounder listing, Kallis remains top, clear of Daniel Vettori of New Zealand, but the South African may start to feel some pressure from third-placed Flintoff if the England man is selected in the final eleven for the Headingley Test.
The remaining matches in Test series between England and South Africa are as follows:
18 – 22 July – second Test, Headingley, Leeds
30 July – 3 August – third Test, Edgbaston, Birmingham
7 – 11 August – Fourth Test, The Oval, London
LG ICC Test Championship (for series completed up to 1 August 2006, table updates at the end of each series)
Rank Team Rating
1 Australia 138
2 South Africa 115
3 India 113
4 England 106
5 Sri Lanka 103
6 Pakistan 100
7 New Zealand 83
8 West Indies 81
9 Bangladesh 0
* Figures in brackets denote positions and ratings of teams prior to the annual update
Note 1: Zimbabwe has a rating of 19 but has not played sufficient Tests over the period covered to be ranked on the main table
Possible series permutations:
To retain second place in the Reliance Mobile ICC Test Championship table, South Africa needs to avoid defeat in the series against England.
If England wins the series 1-0 or 2-1, then India and South Africa will swap places.
A win for England by 2-0, 3-1 or 3-0 will leave India second, but see England go third, with South Africa slipping back to fourth.
If the series is tied, South Africa and India would be level on 113 points but the Proteas would retain second place when the ratings are calculated beyond the decimal point.
If England wins 1-0 or 2-1, it would be locked with South Africa on 110 points but, again, South Africa would be the side placed higher in the table, again when the rating is calculated past the decimal point. This scenario would see India in second place.
Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen and bowlers (as of 17 June)
Batsmen
Rank +/- Player Team Points Avge HS Rating
1 ( - ) K.C.Sangakkara SL 893 55.19 938 v Eng at Kandy 2007
2 ( - ) S.Chanderpaul WI 890! 49.08 890 v Aus at Bridgetown 2008
3 ( - ) Mike Hussey Aus 882 68.38 921 v WI at Kingston 2008
4= ( - ) Ricky Ponting Aus 880 58.37 942 v Eng at Adelaide 2006
( - ) Mohammad Yousuf Pak 880 55.49 933 v WI at Karachi 2006
6 ( - ) Jacques Kallis SA 844 56.59 935 v NZ at Centurion 2007
7 (+3) Kevin Pietersen Eng 837 51.00 909 v WI at Headingley 2007
8 (-1) Matthew Hayden Aus 834 53.51 935 v Eng at Brisbane 2002
9 (-1) M.Jayawardena SL 810 51.93 844 v WI at Guyana 2008
10 (-1) Younis Khan Pak 799 49.14 856 v Eng at Headingley 2006
11 ( - ) Michael Clarke Aus 723 47.06 761 v Ind at Melbourne 2007
12 ( - ) Graeme Smith SA 714 48.73 756 v NZ at Wellington 2004
13= (+9) Ian Bell Eng 704! 44.28 704 v SA at Lord's 2008
( - ) S.R.Tendulkar Ind 704 55.31 898 v Zim at Nagpur 2002
15 (-1) Rahul Dravid Ind 701 54.88 892 v Pak at Kolkata 2005
16 (-1) Andrew Symonds Aus 700* 44.65 718 v WI at Antigua 2008
17 (-1) Andrew Strauss Eng 685 42.30 769 v SA at Johannesburg 2005
18 (-1) Virender Sehwag Ind 681 51.75 854 v SA at Kolkata 2004
19 (-1) Sourav Ganguly Ind 674 42.71 713 v Aus at Adelaide 1999
20 (-1) VVS Laxman Ind 672 43.82 753 v Aus at Sydney 2004
Bowlers
Rank +/- Player Team Points Avge HS Rating
1 ( - ) M.Muralidaran SL 897 21.95 920 v Ban at Kandy 2007
2 ( - ) Dale Steyn SA 867 22.38 897 v Ind at Ahmedabad 2008
3 ( - ) Stuart Clark Aus 863*! 21.46 863 v WI at Bridgetown 2008
4 ( - ) Brett Lee Aus 794 29.58 811 v WI at Antigua 2008
5 (+1) Ryan Sidebottom Eng 769*! 25.27 769 v SA at Lord's 2008
6 (-1) Makhaya Ntini SA 743 28.23 863 v Ind at Durban 2006
7 ( - ) Chaminda Vaas SL 709 29.09 800 v Ind at Chennai 2005
8 ( - ) Anil Kumble Ind 708 29.06 859 v SL at Bangalore 1994
9 ( - ) Shoaib Akhtar Pak 684 25.69 855 v NZ at Wellington 2003
10 ( - ) Shane Bond NZ 668* 22.39 778 v WI at Auckland 2006
11 ( - ) Monty Panesar Eng 640 32.58 721 v WI at Chester-le-St 2007
12 ( - ) Jerome Taylor WI 628*! 34.69 628 v Aus at Bridgetown 2008
13 ( - ) Corey Collymore WI 621* 32.30 700 v Eng at Lord's 2007
14= ( - ) Zaheer Khan Ind 619 33.60 689 v Pak at Delhi 2007
( - ) Mohammad Asif Pak 619* 23.13 710 v SA at Cape Town 2007
16 (+1) Danish Kaneria Pak 614 33.90 723 v Eng at Multan 2005
17 (-1) Matthew Hoggard Eng 612 30.50 795 v SL at Edgbaston 2006
18 ( - ) Harbhajan Singh Ind 608 31.03 765 v NZ at Wellington 2002
19 ( - ) Andrew Flintoff Eng 597 32.02 810 v Pak at Multan 2005
20 ( - ) Daniel Vettori NZ 591 34.43 681 v Aus at Auckland 2000
All-rounders
Rank +/- Player Team Points HS Rating
1 ( - ) Jacques Kallis SA 464 616 v Pak at Durban 2002
2 ( - ) Daniel Vettori NZ 324 360 v Eng at Lord's 2008
3 ( - ) Andrew Flintoff Eng 296 501 v Pak at Multan 2005
4 ( - ) Dwayne Bravo WI 295*! 295 v Aus at Bridgetown 2008
5 ( - ) Chaminda Vaas SL 294 300 v WI at Guyana 2008
ICC MEDIA RELEASE
Steyn misses chance to go top of bowling ladder but Morkel into top 50; Anderson on brink of top 20 placing
Prince, MacKenzie and Amla all close to top 20 slots in the batting list
How the series result will affect the Reliance Mobile Test Championship table
Ian Bell has chimed into the top 20 of the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen.
The England right-hander rattled off a Test-best 199 in the drawn encounter with South Africa at Lord’s and that has seen him climb nine spots in the rankings to 13th place, alongside Sachin Tendulkar of India.
It is his highest-ever ranking and it means England now has three batsmen in the top 20 listings.
Highest-placed of the trio is Kevin Pietersen, whose 152 has seen him rise three spots to seventh position, his highest placing this year.
The other England player among that elite group is opener Andrew Strauss, slotting in at 17th in the list, a drop of one place for the left-hander.
South Africa still retains the top ranked batsman among the two sides, Jacques Kallis in sixth position, but the gap between him and Pietersen is a small one and there is every chance of the two swapping places if they repeat their Lord’s performances in the second match, at Headingley, starting on Friday.
Indeed, there is every chance of a ding-dong battle between the duo during the rest of this series to decide which of them is placed higher in the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings come the end of the fourth Test at The Oval.
Captain Graeme Smith, a centurion in the Lord’s Test with 107, is the other Proteas player among the top 20 batsmen, in 12th position, but he and Kallis could soon be joined by three team-mates.
Ashwell Prince, Neil McKenzie and Hashim Amla were all hundred-makers in London and they now sit in 21st, 24th and 26th positions respectively.
The batting list is still headed by Kumar Sangakkara of Sri Lanka, ahead of the West Indies’ Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Mike Hussey of Australia and his captain Ricky Ponting, along with Mohammad Yousuf of Pakistan, the latter two sharing fourth position.
Dale Steyn has missed an opportunity to topple Muttiah Muralidaran from the head of the Reliance Mobile Player Rankings for Test bowlers.
Steyn started the Lord’s Test within touching distance of the peak after an outstanding run of form but figures of 1-117 in the Test means he has slipped back and is now only just clear of Australia’s Stuart Clark, who occupies third position.
Ryan Sidebottom remains England’s highest-placed bowler, climbing one position to fifth slot, overtaking Makhaya Ntini (0-130 at Lord’s) in the process.
Monty Panesar holds firm in eleventh place while Andrew Flintoff, recalled to the England squad for the second Test, may well have a chance to improve on his 19th spot.
Just outside that top 20, England’s James Anderson continues to climb, up four places to 22nd position while further down the list, South Africa quick Morne Morkel has broken into the top 50 for the first time, up 10 places to 46th place after taking 4-121.
In the all-rounder listing, Kallis remains top, clear of Daniel Vettori of New Zealand, but the South African may start to feel some pressure from third-placed Flintoff if the England man is selected in the final eleven for the Headingley Test.
The remaining matches in Test series between England and South Africa are as follows:
18 – 22 July – second Test, Headingley, Leeds
30 July – 3 August – third Test, Edgbaston, Birmingham
7 – 11 August – Fourth Test, The Oval, London
LG ICC Test Championship (for series completed up to 1 August 2006, table updates at the end of each series)
Rank Team Rating
1 Australia 138
2 South Africa 115
3 India 113
4 England 106
5 Sri Lanka 103
6 Pakistan 100
7 New Zealand 83
8 West Indies 81
9 Bangladesh 0
* Figures in brackets denote positions and ratings of teams prior to the annual update
Note 1: Zimbabwe has a rating of 19 but has not played sufficient Tests over the period covered to be ranked on the main table
Possible series permutations:
To retain second place in the Reliance Mobile ICC Test Championship table, South Africa needs to avoid defeat in the series against England.
If England wins the series 1-0 or 2-1, then India and South Africa will swap places.
A win for England by 2-0, 3-1 or 3-0 will leave India second, but see England go third, with South Africa slipping back to fourth.
If the series is tied, South Africa and India would be level on 113 points but the Proteas would retain second place when the ratings are calculated beyond the decimal point.
If England wins 1-0 or 2-1, it would be locked with South Africa on 110 points but, again, South Africa would be the side placed higher in the table, again when the rating is calculated past the decimal point. This scenario would see India in second place.
Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen and bowlers (as of 17 June)
Batsmen
Rank +/- Player Team Points Avge HS Rating
1 ( - ) K.C.Sangakkara SL 893 55.19 938 v Eng at Kandy 2007
2 ( - ) S.Chanderpaul WI 890! 49.08 890 v Aus at Bridgetown 2008
3 ( - ) Mike Hussey Aus 882 68.38 921 v WI at Kingston 2008
4= ( - ) Ricky Ponting Aus 880 58.37 942 v Eng at Adelaide 2006
( - ) Mohammad Yousuf Pak 880 55.49 933 v WI at Karachi 2006
6 ( - ) Jacques Kallis SA 844 56.59 935 v NZ at Centurion 2007
7 (+3) Kevin Pietersen Eng 837 51.00 909 v WI at Headingley 2007
8 (-1) Matthew Hayden Aus 834 53.51 935 v Eng at Brisbane 2002
9 (-1) M.Jayawardena SL 810 51.93 844 v WI at Guyana 2008
10 (-1) Younis Khan Pak 799 49.14 856 v Eng at Headingley 2006
11 ( - ) Michael Clarke Aus 723 47.06 761 v Ind at Melbourne 2007
12 ( - ) Graeme Smith SA 714 48.73 756 v NZ at Wellington 2004
13= (+9) Ian Bell Eng 704! 44.28 704 v SA at Lord's 2008
( - ) S.R.Tendulkar Ind 704 55.31 898 v Zim at Nagpur 2002
15 (-1) Rahul Dravid Ind 701 54.88 892 v Pak at Kolkata 2005
16 (-1) Andrew Symonds Aus 700* 44.65 718 v WI at Antigua 2008
17 (-1) Andrew Strauss Eng 685 42.30 769 v SA at Johannesburg 2005
18 (-1) Virender Sehwag Ind 681 51.75 854 v SA at Kolkata 2004
19 (-1) Sourav Ganguly Ind 674 42.71 713 v Aus at Adelaide 1999
20 (-1) VVS Laxman Ind 672 43.82 753 v Aus at Sydney 2004
Bowlers
Rank +/- Player Team Points Avge HS Rating
1 ( - ) M.Muralidaran SL 897 21.95 920 v Ban at Kandy 2007
2 ( - ) Dale Steyn SA 867 22.38 897 v Ind at Ahmedabad 2008
3 ( - ) Stuart Clark Aus 863*! 21.46 863 v WI at Bridgetown 2008
4 ( - ) Brett Lee Aus 794 29.58 811 v WI at Antigua 2008
5 (+1) Ryan Sidebottom Eng 769*! 25.27 769 v SA at Lord's 2008
6 (-1) Makhaya Ntini SA 743 28.23 863 v Ind at Durban 2006
7 ( - ) Chaminda Vaas SL 709 29.09 800 v Ind at Chennai 2005
8 ( - ) Anil Kumble Ind 708 29.06 859 v SL at Bangalore 1994
9 ( - ) Shoaib Akhtar Pak 684 25.69 855 v NZ at Wellington 2003
10 ( - ) Shane Bond NZ 668* 22.39 778 v WI at Auckland 2006
11 ( - ) Monty Panesar Eng 640 32.58 721 v WI at Chester-le-St 2007
12 ( - ) Jerome Taylor WI 628*! 34.69 628 v Aus at Bridgetown 2008
13 ( - ) Corey Collymore WI 621* 32.30 700 v Eng at Lord's 2007
14= ( - ) Zaheer Khan Ind 619 33.60 689 v Pak at Delhi 2007
( - ) Mohammad Asif Pak 619* 23.13 710 v SA at Cape Town 2007
16 (+1) Danish Kaneria Pak 614 33.90 723 v Eng at Multan 2005
17 (-1) Matthew Hoggard Eng 612 30.50 795 v SL at Edgbaston 2006
18 ( - ) Harbhajan Singh Ind 608 31.03 765 v NZ at Wellington 2002
19 ( - ) Andrew Flintoff Eng 597 32.02 810 v Pak at Multan 2005
20 ( - ) Daniel Vettori NZ 591 34.43 681 v Aus at Auckland 2000
All-rounders
Rank +/- Player Team Points HS Rating
1 ( - ) Jacques Kallis SA 464 616 v Pak at Durban 2002
2 ( - ) Daniel Vettori NZ 324 360 v Eng at Lord's 2008
3 ( - ) Andrew Flintoff Eng 296 501 v Pak at Multan 2005
4 ( - ) Dwayne Bravo WI 295*! 295 v Aus at Bridgetown 2008
5 ( - ) Chaminda Vaas SL 294 300 v WI at Guyana 2008
ICC MEDIA RELEASE