Flintoff takes over as number one all-rounder; Pietersen jumps to seventh place; Broad achieves career-best fourth position in bowlers’ list while Zaheer Khan becomes highest-ranked Indian bowler in 14th place
India ’s captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has knocked his South African counterpart Graeme Smith off top spot in the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for ODI batsmen after a good series against Sri Lanka which concluded in Colombo on Friday.
The 27-year-old from Bihar was the leading run-scorer in the five-match series with 193 runs that made sure his side clinched its first-ever ODI series in Sri Lanka and in the process displaced Smith at the top of the rankings.
Dhoni, who won the player-of-the-series award, was on top of the batting list for a week in April 2006 and is the first Indian batsman to head the batting chart since Sachin Tendulkar following the tri-series in Australia in March earlier this year.
Tendulkar, however, has dropped three places to ninth in the latest rankings after missing the series in Sri Lanka because of elbow injury. A player loses one per cent of his rating for missing every match.
Yuvraj Singh is the third Indian batsmen in the top 20 but the left-hander has dropped three places after scoring just 72 runs in the series and shares 18th position with England ’s Ian Bell who has jumped seven places after a series of good performances in the first three ODIs against South Africa so far.
Besides Dhoni, Suresh Raina is the only other India batsman to improve his batting ranking. The 21-year-old left-handed batsman scored 157 runs in the series and was rewarded by rising 18 places to 35th position.
Virender Sehwag, who missed the ODI series due to an ankle injury, stays in 29th place but his opening partner Gautam Gambhir has dropped six places to 28th after scoring just 36 runs in the series.
Sri Lanka’s highest ranked batsman remains Kumar Sangakkara who is in 15th position after dropping two places while Sanath Jayasuriya is in 17th place after rising one position. Captain Mahela Jayawardena has climbed two places to 24th position.
England captain Kevin Pietersen has jumped five places to seventh position after knocks of 90 not out and one against South Africa . The Hampshire batsman can leapfrog Pakistan ’s Mohammad Yousuf and Shivnarine Chanderpaul of the West Indies if he produces a couple more good knocks in the last two ODIs.
South Africa ’s AB Villiers has dropped out of the top 10 after disappointing performances in the series so far. The 24-year-old from Pretoria has slipped six places to 14th position while Herschelle Gibbs and Jacques Kallis have also lost ground.
In the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for ODI bowlers, India fast bowler Zaheer Khan has become his country’s highest ranked bowler in 14th place. The 29-year-old left-armer took nine wickets in the series and has stormed into the top 20 after jumping eight places.
Off-spinner Harbhajan Singh improved his ranking by six places and now sits in 23rd position.
Muttiah Muralidaran and Chaminda Vaas have dropped in the bowlers’ rankings but Nuwan Kulasekara and Ajantha Mendis have made significant upwards movements. Kulasekara has jumped 10 places to 24th after a series haul of 11 wickets while Mendis has rocketed 25 places to 48th position after finishing as the leading wicket-taker with 13 wickets.
England ’s Stuart Broad has achieved his career-best ranking of fourth after figures of 1-61, 5-23 and 0-28 and has third place firmly within his sights.
Broad’s team-mate Andrew Flintoff has struck gold in the latest rankings. The Lancastrian has surged to the top of Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for ODI all-rounders after jumping six places.
The 30-year-old achieved the feat after climbing 10 places to 38th in the batting list and lifting four places to 13th position in the bowling chart. In the three ODIs so far, Flintoff has scored 156 runs and taken seven wickets.
Reliance Mobile ICC ODI Rankings (as of 30 August)
Batsmen
Rank (+/-) Player Team Points Ave HS Rating
1 (+1) MS Dhoni Ind 793 47.41 806 v WI at Kingston 2006
2 (-1) Graeme Smith SA 772 40.69 792 v Ban at Dhaka 2008
3 ( - ) Ricky Ponting Aus 751 43.24 832 v NZ at Hobart 2007
4 ( - ) Mike Hussey Aus 750 54.92 863 v NZ at Perth 2007
5 (+1) Mohd Yousuf Pak 738 43.19 777 v SA at Raw alp indi 2003
6 (-1) S.Chanderpaul WI 733 40.49 754 v SA at Durban 1999
7 (+5) Kevin Pietersen Eng 731 47.96 834 v Aus at Antigua 2007
8 (+1) Andrew Symonds Aus 730 40.34 778 v Ind at Nagpur 2007
9 (-2) SR.Tendulkar Ind 724 44.33 887 v Zim at Sharjah 1998
10 ( - ) Matthew Hayden Aus 722 43.80 854 v Ind at Centurion 2003
11 (+3) Michael Clarke Aus 703 43.40 756 v SL at Melbourne 2008
12= (-1) HH.Gibbs SA 700 36.28 750 v SL at Durban 2003
(+4) Chris Gayle WI 700 39.38 804 v Aus at Mumbai 2006
14 (-6) AB de Villiers SA 699 36.46 733 v Ban at Dhaka 2008
15 (-2) KC.Sangakkara SL 680 35.66 760 v Ind at Rajkot 2007
16 (+3) Shoaib Malik Pak 676 35.75 685 v Ind at Lahore 2006
17 (+1) ST.Jayasuriya SL 675 32.69 838 v Ban at Pietermaritzburg 2003
18= (-3) Yuvraj Singh Ind 673 35.91 739 v WI at Port-of-Spain 2006
(+7) Ian Bell Eng 673 36.70 705 v Ind at Birmingham 2007
20 (-3) Jacques Kallis SA 672 44.89 816 v WI at Johannesburg 2004
Bowlers
Rank (+/-) Player Team Points Ave Econ HS Rating
1 ( - ) Nathan Bracken Aus 769 21.78 4.35 806 v SL at St George's 2007
2 ( - ) Daniel Vettori NZ 761 31.70 4.17 790 v Eng at Christchurch 2008
3 ( - ) Shane Bond NZ 711 19.32 4.20 811 v SA at St George's 2007
4 (+9) Stuart Broad Eng 692* 26.58 4.77 701 v SA at Nottingham 2008
5= (+2) MG.Johnson Aus 674*! 24.77 4.76 674 v WI at St Kitts 2008
(-1) M.Muralidaran SL 674 23.03 3.88 913 v NZ at Sharjah 2002
7 (-2) Chaminda Vaas SL 672 27.54 4.18 861 v SA at Colombo (RPS) 2004
8 ( - ) Brett Lee Aus 667 22.96 4.71 853 v SA at Melbourne 2006
9 (+1) Kyle Mills NZ 663 26.74 4.68 694 v Ban at Queenstown 2007
10 (-5) Andre Nel SA 657 27.58 4.63 685 v Ban at Dhaka 2008
11 (-3) Jerome Taylor WI 656 27.04 4.67 688 v SA at Cape Town 2008
12 ( - ) Shahid Afridi Pak 654 34.90 4.63 685 v Ind at Dhaka 2008
13 (+4) Andrew Flintoff Eng 646 24.32 4.36 755 v Ban at Dhaka 2003
14 (+8) Zaheer Khan Ind 637 28.82 4.84 700 v SA at Dhaka 2003
15= (-4) Daren Powell WI 632 32.18 4.63 686 v Aus at St George's 2008
( - ) Iftikhar Anjum Pak 632! 32.49 4.87 632 v Ban at Karachi 2008
17 (-1) Jacob Oram NZ 627 30.70 4.44 768 v Aus at The Oval 2004
18 ( - ) Brad Hogg Aus 620 26.84 4.52 687 v Ind at Nagpur 2007
19 (-5) Makhaya Ntini SA 612 24.54 4.48 782 v WI at Cape Town 2004
20 ( - ) Sohail Tanvir Pak 610* 28.11 4.92 619 v SL at Karachi 2008
All-rounders
Rank (+/-) Player Team Points HS Rating
1 (+6) Andrew Flintoff Eng 360 544 v SL at The Rose Bowl 2004
2 (-1) Shoaib Malik Pak 349 402 v WI at Brisbane 2005
3 (-1) Jacob Oram NZ 342 353 v Eng at Auckland 2008
4 ( - ) Shahid Afridi Pak 331 360 v Ind at Dhaka 2008
5 (-2) Jacques Kallis SA 327 505 v WI at Bridgetown 2001
ICC MEDIA RELEASE