Highest ever rated Sri Lanka batsman can move up to third in LG ICC Test Player Rankings; chance for Bangladesh players to establish themselves
Sri Lankas wicketkeeper-batsman Kumar Sangakkara has the opportunity to climb another place in LG ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen over the next couple of weeks as he prepares for a three-match home series against Bangladesh.
Sangakkara has been steadily improving in recent seasons and is currently occupying fourth place in the rankings, just five rating points behind England batting sensation Kevin Pietersen in third spot.
The left-handers current rating points tally of 857 is a career best and makes him the highest rated Sri Lanka player of all time and 47th in the rankings for all batsmen who have ever played Test cricket.
A good series with the bat will push him above Pietersen although the Hampshire player, who turns 27 next Wednesday, will have to opportunity to regain that place when England takes on India in a three-Test series in July and August.
Despite a more than adequate series against the West Indies, Pietersen has recently dropped below the magic 900 rating points mark, indicating how difficult it is to maintain that score.
Sangakkaras captain Mahela Jayawardena is the only other Sri Lanka player in the top 20 and given the way he is playing these days he will feel he is in the right form to make moves upwards from his current position of 14th.
The 30-year-old was recently named player of the series as he led the Asia XI to victory in the Afro-Asian Cup, averaging 73.88 in the three-ODI series. He will be looking to translate that good one-day form into Test success when he takes the field in the first Test on 25 June.
With no Bangladesh batsmen or bowlers currently in the top 20 of the LG ICC Test Player Rankings, this three-match series will be a good opportunity for some of them to make their mark. Habibul Bashar is currently in joint 35th position with Indias Sourav Ganguly while there is also a good chance for the likes of Rajin Saleh, Shahriar Nafees and captain Mohammad Ashraful to move up the log.
Meanwhile, number one-ranked Sri Lankas Muttiah Muralidaran is the only bowler who currently has in excess of 900 rating points. His current tally of 913 is just two behind his career best of 915 that he achieved during a series against Pakistan in 2002.
While Muralidaran is way out in front of the current rankings, he can also make his mark on history if he continues to dominate batsmen the way he does. He sits fourth in the all-time bowling rankings with his sights set firmly on the three names above him, Imran Khan of Pakistan (922 points), George Lohmann (931) and Sydney Barnes (932).
Muralidarans team-mate Chaminda Vaas will be seeking a return to the top ten of the LG ICC Player Rankings for Test bowlers with another strong series. He is currently in 13th position with Corey Collymore of the West Indies and Englands Andrew Flintoff not far ahead.
Mohammad Rafique and Mashrafe Mortaza of Bangladesh have good opportunities to improve upon their current positions in the bowling ranking of 29th and 36th, respectively.
Upcoming fixtures:
25-29 June Sri Lanka v Bangladesh, Colombo
3-7 July Sri Lanka v Bangladesh, Colombo
11-15 July Sri Lanka v Bangladesh, Kandy
LG ICC Test Championship (as at 23 June, after England v West Indies series)
Rank Team Rating
1 Australia 135
2 England 114
3 Pakistan 108
4 India 107
5 Sri Lanka 102
6 South Africa 102
7 New Zealand 93
8 West Indies 72
9 Zimbabwe 28
10 Bangladesh 1
(Developed by David Kendix)
LG ICC Test Rankings (as of 23 June, after England v West Indies series)
Batsmen
Rank Player Team Points Ave HS Ranking
1 Ricky Ponting Aus 936 59.29 942 v Eng at Adelaide 2006
2 Mhd Yousuf Pak 915 56.00 933 v WI at Karachi 2006
3 Kevin Pietersen Eng 862 52.10 909 v WI at Leeds 2007
4 K.C.Sangakkara SL 857 50.64 857 v NZ at Wellington 2006
5 Mike Hussey Aus 842* 79.85 842 v Eng at Sydney 2007
6 Matthew Hayden Aus 828 53.00 935 v Eng at Brisbane 2002
7 Jacques Kallis SA 820 55.09 896 v Eng at Cape Town 2005
8 Rahul Dravid Ind 801 57.46 892 v Pak at Kolkata 2005
9 Younis Khan Pak 789 48.21 856 v Eng at Leeds 2006
10 S.Chanderpaul WI 762 46.63 811 v SL at Colombo (SSC) 2005
11 Ashwell Prince SA 755 42.85 756 v Pak at Centurion 2007
12 Inzamam-ul-Haq Pak 735 50.07 870 v Eng at Lahore 2005
13 P.D.Collingwood Eng 712 45.47 730 v Aus at Adelaide 2006
14 M.Jayawardena SL 710 48.37 836 v Eng at Birmingham 2002
15 Stephen Fleming NZ 674 39.64 702 v Ban at Chittagong 2004
16= S.R.Tendulkar Ind 672 55.44 898 v Zim at Nagpur 2002
Graeme Smith SA 672 47.08 756 v NZ at Wellington 2004
18 Adam Gilchrist Aus 662 48.66 874 v SA at Cape Town 2002
19 Michael Clarke Aus 657 42.00 692 v Eng at Perth 2006
20 Alastair Cook Eng 653* 46.29 689 v WI at Manchester 2007
Bowlers
Rank Player Team Points Ave HS Ranking
1 M.Muralidaran SL 913 21.73 915 v Pak at Lahore 2002
2 Makhaya Ntini SA 856 27.48 863 v Ind at Durban 2006
3= Anil Kumble Ind 730 28.59 859 v SL at Bangalore 1994
Shaun Pollock SA 730 23.19 909 v Eng at Johannesburg 1999
5 Shane Bond NZ 722* 22.10 778 v WI at Auckland 2006
6= Mthew Hoggard Eng 721 30.03 795 v SL at Birmingham 2006
Monty Panesar Eng 721* 28.40 721 v WI at Chester-le-St 2007
8 Stuart Clark Aus 720* 17.80 720 v Eng at Sydney 2007
9 Mohammad Asif Pak 710* 20.12 710 v SA at Cape Town 2007
10 Shoaib Akhtar Pak 698 25.29 855 v NZ at Wellington 2003
11 Andrew Flintoff Eng 680 32.02 810 v Pak at Multan 2005
12 Corey Collymore WI 673* 32.30 700 v Eng at Lord's 2007
13 Chaminda Vaas SL 663 29.44 800 v Ind at Chennai 2005
14 Danish Kaneria Pak 662 32.36 723 v Eng at Multan 2005
15 Brett Lee Aus 644 31.60 658 v WI at Perth 2000
16 James Franklin NZ 637* 28.19 679 v SL at Christchurch 2006
17 Irfan Pathan Ind 618* 30.79 761 v SL at Delhi 2005
18 Umar Gul Pak 608* 30.62 627 v WI at Karachi 2006
19 Daniel Vettori NZ 598 34.28 681 v Aus at Auckland 2000
20 Stuart MacGill Aus 593 27.20 728 v WI at Kingston 1999
All-rounders
Rank Player Team Points HS Ranking
1 Jacques Kallis SA 462 616 v Pak at Durban 2002
2 Andrew Flintoff Eng 384 501 v Pak at Multan 2005
3 Shaun Pollock SA 356 490 v Eng at The Oval 2003
4 Daniel Vettori NZ 329 329 v SL at Wellington 2006
5 Chaminda Vaas SL 253 281 v Ind at Chennai 2005
*indicates provisional rating; a batsman qualifies for a full rating after playing 40 Test innings; a bowler qualifies for a full rating when he reaches 100 Test wickets.
For more information on the LG ICC Player Rankings, including all-time batting and bowling lists, go to http://www.lgiccrankings.com/