Sangakkara topples Sehwag to become number one

Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara has claimed the top spot of the ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen from India’s Virender Sehwag.

Kumar Sangakkara

The 32-year-old Sangakkara scored 219 and 42 not out against India in the second Test at Colombo has seen him reclaim the top spot which he previously occupied in 2009. Sehwag has dropped to second after making 99 runs in the first innings but not batting in the second after the match ended a draw in Colombo on 30 July.

Meanwhile, India’s Sachin Tendulkar has climbed two places to take fourth position in the rankings after his impressive double century during the match.

Sangakkara ’s team-mate Thilan Samaraweera has risen one place to 18^th after scoring 76 not out and 10 not out, he has some work to do though if he is to climb back up to his previous highest ranking of 11^th place.

England’s Andrew Strauss has just managed to break into the top 20 after captaining his side to victory in the team’s first Test against Pakistan that concluded today (1 August).

Strauss’s team-mate Paul Collingwood has leapt five places to sit in 22^nd while vice-captain Alastair Cook has slipped five places to 30^th sitting one below India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

England’s Matt Prior has risen to 33^rd while Pakistan captain Salman Butt has dropped two places to 34^th and Umar Akmal has slipped another six places to occupy 46^th position in the table.

England centurion Eoin Morgan has shot up the rankings to 51^st position after his strong batting display with Collingwood at Trent Bridge. India’s Test debutant and centurion Suresh Raina has entered the rankings in 60^th place after his knock of 120 against Sri Lanka.

In the Player Rankings for Test bowlers, there is no change at the top of the table which is headed by South Africa’s Dale Steyn followed by Pakistan Mohammad Asif.

However England’s James Anderson has climbed four places to claim fifth place, just behind his team-mate Graeme Swann who is now only 14 ratings points ahead of the fast bowler. Anderson’s 11-74 sees him claim his highest ranking to date.

A disappointing Test match for Pakistan’s Danish Kaneria has seen the spinner drop six places to 21^st; it is the first time Kaneria has been outside of the top 20 since 2003.

It is better news for Kaneria’s team-mate Mohammed Amir who has risen four places to 34^th after completing the Test with figures of 4-76.

In the ICC Player Rankings for Test all-rounders, the table is still headed by South Africa’s Jacques Kallis with New Zealand’s Daniel Vettori in second place.

ICC Test Player Rankings (as of 1 August after second Test between Sri Lanka and India and first Test between Pakistan and England)

Batsmen

Rank (+/-) Player Team Points Ave HS Rating

1 (+1) K Sangakkara SL 882 56.92 938 v Eng at Kandy 2007

2 (-1) Virender Sehwag Ind 863 54.14 866 v SL at Galle 2010

3 ( – ) M Jayawardena SL 832 54.34 883 v Ind at Ahmedabad 2009

4 (+2) Sachin Tendulkar Ind 817 56.08 898 v Zim at Nagpur 2002

5 (-1) Michael Clarke Aus 814 50.71 855 v Eng at Headingley 2009

6 (-1) S.Chanderpaul WI 807 49.28 901 v NZ at Napier 2008

7 ( – ) Jacques Kallis SA 791 55.07 935 v NZ at Centurion 2007

8 ( – ) Graeme Smith SA 787 50.49 843 v Eng at Johannesburg 2010

9 (+1) Simon Katich Aus 772 46.83 807 v Pak at Lord’s 2010

10 (+1) Ross Taylor NZ 766 43.13 775 v Pak at Wellington 2009

11 (-2) Gautam Gambhir Ind 765 52.83 886 v SL at Kanpur 2009

12 ( – ) AB de Villiers SA 762 ! 45.50 762 v WI at Bridgetown 2010

13 ( – ) Hashim Amla SA 745 45.10 842 v Ind at Kolkata 2010

14 (+1) Younus Khan Pak 732 50.09 880 v SL at Lahore 2009

15 (-1) VVS Laxman Ind 727 46.51 753 v Aus at Sydney 2004

16 ( – ) Ricky Ponting Aus 717 54.66 942 v Eng at Adelaide 2006

17 ( – ) Tamim Iqbal Ban 707*! 40.13 707 v Eng at Old Trafford 2010

18 (+1) T Samaraweera SL 703 51.58 747 v Ind at Kanpur 2009

19 (-1) Rahul Dravid Ind 679 53.30 892 v Pak at Kolkata 2005

20= (+3) Chris Gayle WI 670 40.31 704 v Eng at Antigua 2009

(+1) Andrew Strauss Eng 670 43.59 769 v SA at Johannesburg 2005

Bowlers

Rank (+/-) Player Team Points Ave HS Rating

1 ( – ) Dale Steyn SA 887 23.13 897 v Ind at Ahmedabad 2008

2 ( – ) Mohammad Asif Pak 818 ! 23.12 818 v Eng at Headingley 2010

3 ( – ) M Muralidaran SL 764 22.72 920 v Ban at Kandy 2007

4 ( – ) Graeme Swann Eng 754* 30.15 786 v Ban at Mirpur 2010

5 (+4) James Anderson Eng 740 ! 32.52 740 v Pak at Headingley 2010

6 (-1) Morne Morkel SA 739*! 30.78 739 v WI at Bridgetown 2010

7 (-1) Mitchell Johnson Aus 732 28.87 825 v Eng at Cardiff 2009

8 (-1) Zaheer Khan Ind 714 32.98 729 v SA at Kolkata 2010

9 (-1) Harbhajan Singh Ind 655 31.62 765 v NZ at Wellington 2002

10 ( – ) Shakib Al Hasan Ban 640*! 32.52 640 v Eng at Old Trafford 2010

11 ( – ) Makhaya Ntini SA 638 28.82 863 v Ind at Durban 2006

12 ( – ) Stuart Broad Eng 620* 35.84 697 v SA at Durban 2009

13 ( – ) Daniel Vettori NZ 609 33.86 681 v Aus at Auckland 2000

14 ( – ) Doug Bollinger Aus 601* 24.65 616 v NZ at Hamilton 2010

15 (+1) Umar Gul Pak 593 33.47 627 v WI at Karachi 2006

16 (+1) Jerome Taylor WI 580* 35.64 717 v Eng at Kingston 2009

17 (+1) Paul Harris SA 576* 37.10 705 v Eng at Centurion 2009

18 (+1) Peter Siddle Aus 573* 31.53 617 v Eng at The Oval 2009

19 (+1) R Sidebottom Eng 561* 28.24 769 v SA at Lord’s 2008

20 (+1) Jacques Kallis SA 559 31.59 742 v Eng at Headingley 2003