ICC MEDIA RELEASE
Dubai , 26 February 2008
Fast bowlers Morne Morkel and Shahadat Hossain take big strides
South Africa batsman Jacques Kallis has dropped out of top three of the LG ICC Test Player Rankings after a disappointing first Test which the visitors won by five wickets in Dhaka on Monday.
Kallis had entered in the series with an outside chance of displacing Sri Lanka ’s Kumar Sangakkara from the top spot. But for that to happen, he had to score heavily in the two-Test series.
The 32-year-old could score only 17 and seven which not only meant he kissed goodbye to his slim chances of surging to the top of the batting list but also resulted in him slipping two places to fourth position.
Kallis’ disappointing performance also saw him fall below the 900-mark, something he had achieved after a successful campaign in Pakistan last October.
After starting the series on 917 ratings points, Kallis has fallen to 895 points and is now just 15 ahead of Pakistan’s Mohammad Yousuf and four adrift of Australia’s Ricky Ponting.
Kallis was not the only South Africa batsman to drop in the ranking. Ashwell Prince and captain Graeme Smith both slipped one place each to 14th and 19th spots respectively.
However, AB de Villiers climbed three places to 31st position and can gain more places if he carries his form into the second Test which starts on 29 February in Chittagong .
For Bangladesh , captain Mohammad Ashraful lifted one place to 46th spot, Junaid Siddique, who scored 74 in the second innings, jumped 23 places to 75th position while Aftab Ahmad, who scored 44 and 24, climbed 11 places to 74th spot.
Former captain Habibul Bashar dropped five places to 54th position while opener Tamin Iqbal was the biggest loser when he slipped 17 places to 83 position.
In the LG ICC Player Rankings for Test bowlers, Kallis made amends for his batting failure by grabbing 5-30 in the second innings that not only helped South Africa carve out a five-wicket victory but also assisted him returning to the top 20.
Kallis leaped four places to 19th position as the top 18 in the list remained unchanged.
Second-placed Dale Steyn, who is bidding to dislodge Sri Lanka ’s Muttiah Muralidaran from top position, took seven wickets in the Test and earned 38 ratings points. Steyn is now sitting on 870 and trails Muralidharan by 37 points.
Youngsters Morne Morkel of South Africa and Shahadat Hussain of Bangladesh were the biggest movers in the bowling list.
The 22-year-old Hussain, playing his 14th Test, took nine wickets in the match to jump 12 places to 38 position while Morkel, who took 5-50 in the first innings, rocketed 24 places to 63rd place.
There is no change in the LG ICC Player Rankings for Test all-rounders as Kallis continues to enjoy a commanding lead over rest of the field.
LG ICC Test Rankings (as of 26 February)
Batsmen
Rank (+/-) Player Team Points Ave HS Rating
1 ( - ) K.C.Sangakkara SL 933 56.37 938 v Eng at Kandy 2007
2 (+1) Mike Hussey Aus 912*! 78.14 912 v Ind at Adelaide 2008
3 (+1) Ricky Ponting Aus 899 58.53 942 v Eng at Adelaide 2006
4 (-2) Jacques Kallis SA 895 57.54 935 v NZ at Centurion 2007
5 ( - ) Mohd 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 ( - ) Kevin Pietersen Eng 804 50.40 909 v WI at Leeds 2007
10 ( - ) Yunus Khan Pak 799 49.14 856 v Eng at Leeds 2006
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 (+1) Alastair Cook Eng 711! 45.02 711 v SL at Galle 2007
14 (-1) Ashwell Prince SA 707 43.49 756 v Pak at Centurion 2007
15 ( - ) Rahul Dravid Ind 704 55.11 892 v Pak at Kolkata 2005
16 ( - ) Stephen Fleming NZ 702! 39.73 702 v Ban at Wellington 2008
17 ( - ) VVS Laxman Ind 679 44.20 753 v Aus at Sydney 2004
18 (+1) P.D.Collingwood Eng 664 42.76 730 v Aus at Adelaide 2006
19 (-1) Graeme Smith SA 660 46.80 756 v NZ at Wellington 2004
20 ( - ) Ian Bell Eng 657 42.51 684 v SL at Kandy 2007
Bowlers
Rank (+/-) Player Team Points Ave HS Rating
1 ( - ) M.Muralidaran SL 907 21.77 920 v Ban at Kandy 2007
2 ( - ) Dale Steyn SA 870*! 22.32 870 v Ban at Dhaka 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 743 28.16 863 v Ind at Durban 2006
6 ( - ) Anil Kumble Ind 738 28.86 859 v SL at Bangalore 1994
7 ( - ) Shane Bond NZ 709* 22.39 778 v WI at Auckland 2006
8 ( - ) Matthew Hoggard Eng 695 30.01 795 v SL at Birmingham 2006
9 ( - ) Shoaib Akhtar Pak 684 25.69 855 v NZ at Wellington 2003
10 ( - ) Chaminda Vaas SL 666 29.43 800 v Ind at Chennai 2005
11 ( - ) Corey Collymore WI 653* 32.30 700 v Eng at Lord's 2007
12 ( - ) Andrew Flintoff Eng 640 32.02 810 v Pak at Multan 2005
13 ( - ) Zaheer Khan Ind 638 33.60 689 v Pak at Delhi 2007
14 ( - ) Chris Martin NZ 626 32.47 643 v Eng at Lord's 2004
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 ( - ) James Franklin NZ 612* 28.19 679 v SL at Christchurch 2006
18 ( - ) Irfan Pathan Ind 608 31.41 761 v SL at Delhi 2005
19 (+4) Jacques Kallis SA 597 30.79 742 v Eng at Leeds 2003
20 (-1) Monty Panesar Eng 589* 32.76 721 v WI at Chester-le-St 2007
All-rounders
Rank (+/-) Player Team Points HS Rating
1 ( - ) Jacques Kallis SA 534 616 v Pak at Durban 2002
2 ( - ) Andrew Flintoff Eng 340 501 v Pak at Multan 2005
3 ( - ) Daniel Vettori NZ 337! 337 v Ban at Wellington 2008
4 ( - ) Chaminda Vaas SL 276 281 v Ind at Chennai 2005
5 ( - ) Irfan Pathan Ind 259*/ 317 v Eng at Mohali 2006
Fast bowlers Morne Morkel and Shahadat Hossain take big strides
South Africa batsman Jacques Kallis has dropped out of top three of the LG ICC Test Player Rankings after a disappointing first Test which the visitors won by five wickets in Dhaka on Monday.
Kallis had entered in the series with an outside chance of displacing Sri Lanka ’s Kumar Sangakkara from the top spot. But for that to happen, he had to score heavily in the two-Test series.
The 32-year-old could score only 17 and seven which not only meant he kissed goodbye to his slim chances of surging to the top of the batting list but also resulted in him slipping two places to fourth position.
Kallis’ disappointing performance also saw him fall below the 900-mark, something he had achieved after a successful campaign in Pakistan last October.
After starting the series on 917 ratings points, Kallis has fallen to 895 points and is now just 15 ahead of Pakistan’s Mohammad Yousuf and four adrift of Australia’s Ricky Ponting.
Kallis was not the only South Africa batsman to drop in the ranking. Ashwell Prince and captain Graeme Smith both slipped one place each to 14th and 19th spots respectively.
However, AB de Villiers climbed three places to 31st position and can gain more places if he carries his form into the second Test which starts on 29 February in Chittagong .
For Bangladesh , captain Mohammad Ashraful lifted one place to 46th spot, Junaid Siddique, who scored 74 in the second innings, jumped 23 places to 75th position while Aftab Ahmad, who scored 44 and 24, climbed 11 places to 74th spot.
Former captain Habibul Bashar dropped five places to 54th position while opener Tamin Iqbal was the biggest loser when he slipped 17 places to 83 position.
In the LG ICC Player Rankings for Test bowlers, Kallis made amends for his batting failure by grabbing 5-30 in the second innings that not only helped South Africa carve out a five-wicket victory but also assisted him returning to the top 20.
Kallis leaped four places to 19th position as the top 18 in the list remained unchanged.
Second-placed Dale Steyn, who is bidding to dislodge Sri Lanka ’s Muttiah Muralidaran from top position, took seven wickets in the Test and earned 38 ratings points. Steyn is now sitting on 870 and trails Muralidharan by 37 points.
Youngsters Morne Morkel of South Africa and Shahadat Hussain of Bangladesh were the biggest movers in the bowling list.
The 22-year-old Hussain, playing his 14th Test, took nine wickets in the match to jump 12 places to 38 position while Morkel, who took 5-50 in the first innings, rocketed 24 places to 63rd place.
There is no change in the LG ICC Player Rankings for Test all-rounders as Kallis continues to enjoy a commanding lead over rest of the field.
LG ICC Test Rankings (as of 26 February)
Batsmen
Rank (+/-) Player Team Points Ave HS Rating
1 ( - ) K.C.Sangakkara SL 933 56.37 938 v Eng at Kandy 2007
2 (+1) Mike Hussey Aus 912*! 78.14 912 v Ind at Adelaide 2008
3 (+1) Ricky Ponting Aus 899 58.53 942 v Eng at Adelaide 2006
4 (-2) Jacques Kallis SA 895 57.54 935 v NZ at Centurion 2007
5 ( - ) Mohd 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 ( - ) Kevin Pietersen Eng 804 50.40 909 v WI at Leeds 2007
10 ( - ) Yunus Khan Pak 799 49.14 856 v Eng at Leeds 2006
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 (+1) Alastair Cook Eng 711! 45.02 711 v SL at Galle 2007
14 (-1) Ashwell Prince SA 707 43.49 756 v Pak at Centurion 2007
15 ( - ) Rahul Dravid Ind 704 55.11 892 v Pak at Kolkata 2005
16 ( - ) Stephen Fleming NZ 702! 39.73 702 v Ban at Wellington 2008
17 ( - ) VVS Laxman Ind 679 44.20 753 v Aus at Sydney 2004
18 (+1) P.D.Collingwood Eng 664 42.76 730 v Aus at Adelaide 2006
19 (-1) Graeme Smith SA 660 46.80 756 v NZ at Wellington 2004
20 ( - ) Ian Bell Eng 657 42.51 684 v SL at Kandy 2007
Bowlers
Rank (+/-) Player Team Points Ave HS Rating
1 ( - ) M.Muralidaran SL 907 21.77 920 v Ban at Kandy 2007
2 ( - ) Dale Steyn SA 870*! 22.32 870 v Ban at Dhaka 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 743 28.16 863 v Ind at Durban 2006
6 ( - ) Anil Kumble Ind 738 28.86 859 v SL at Bangalore 1994
7 ( - ) Shane Bond NZ 709* 22.39 778 v WI at Auckland 2006
8 ( - ) Matthew Hoggard Eng 695 30.01 795 v SL at Birmingham 2006
9 ( - ) Shoaib Akhtar Pak 684 25.69 855 v NZ at Wellington 2003
10 ( - ) Chaminda Vaas SL 666 29.43 800 v Ind at Chennai 2005
11 ( - ) Corey Collymore WI 653* 32.30 700 v Eng at Lord's 2007
12 ( - ) Andrew Flintoff Eng 640 32.02 810 v Pak at Multan 2005
13 ( - ) Zaheer Khan Ind 638 33.60 689 v Pak at Delhi 2007
14 ( - ) Chris Martin NZ 626 32.47 643 v Eng at Lord's 2004
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 ( - ) James Franklin NZ 612* 28.19 679 v SL at Christchurch 2006
18 ( - ) Irfan Pathan Ind 608 31.41 761 v SL at Delhi 2005
19 (+4) Jacques Kallis SA 597 30.79 742 v Eng at Leeds 2003
20 (-1) Monty Panesar Eng 589* 32.76 721 v WI at Chester-le-St 2007
All-rounders
Rank (+/-) Player Team Points HS Rating
1 ( - ) Jacques Kallis SA 534 616 v Pak at Durban 2002
2 ( - ) Andrew Flintoff Eng 340 501 v Pak at Multan 2005
3 ( - ) Daniel Vettori NZ 337! 337 v Ban at Wellington 2008
4 ( - ) Chaminda Vaas SL 276 281 v Ind at Chennai 2005
5 ( - ) Irfan Pathan Ind 259*/ 317 v Eng at Mohali 2006