Glenn McGrath can finish career on a real high but Sri Lankan bowlers are also making strides in LG ICC Player Rankings for ODI bowlers by ICC Media Release

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Player:	GD McGrath
Event:	ICC World Cup 2006/07

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DateLine: 27th April 2007

 

Six bowlers in top 20 likely to appear in final; Ricky Ponting can put pressure on top spot with another strong performance in Barbados on Saturday

 

Australian fast bowler Glenn McGrath can finish his international career in real style on Saturday. At the front of his mind will, of course, be helping his team win its third consecutive ICC Cricket World Cup but another classy performance will also move him up to second in the LG ICC Player Rankings for ODI bowlers.

 

The big New South Welshman is up two places in the latest rankings to third and he is now just six ratings points behind team-mate Nathan Bracken, who has also been having a fine tournament.

 

Number-one ranked bowler Shaun Pollock of South Africa is still out of sight at the top but McGrath can sign off from the international scene on a big high.

 

Apart from McGrath and Bracken, Australia’s other bowlers are also making their presence felt on the LG ICC Player Rankings for ODI bowlers. Shaun Tait is up 16 places to 34th position, the highest ranking of his career to date, and in-form wrist spinner Brad Hogg is up two places to 12th, another personal best for the man from Western Australia.

 

But the Sri Lanka bowlers are circling behind McGrath and company, ready to pounce should the Australians falter in Saturday’s final. Chaminda Vaas and Muttiah Muralidaran are well placed in fifth and sixth position respectively after another good performance in the semi-final against New Zealand at Sabina Park.

 

And Lasith Malinga, Sri Lanka’s superstar of the tournament, is climbing up the rankings too. After a brief lay-off with injury he came back brilliantly in the semi-final and as a result is up five places to 16th spot, the highest ranking of his career to date.

 

No fewer than six bowlers in the top 20 are likely to be in action in Saturday’s final at Kensington Oval, Barbados.

 

The Australians still dominate the LG ICC Player Rankings for ODI batsmen with five names in the top 11. Michael Clarke moves into the top ten, up four places to ninth, while Matthew Hayden and Mike Hussey also move up inside the top five.

 

Australia captain Ricky Ponting can put pressure on Kevin Pietersen at the top of the LG ICC Player Rankings for ODI batsmen with another stellar display in Saturday’s final. The Tasmanian is 26 ratings points behind Pietersen going into that match.

 

Following his brilliant century in the semi-final Ponting’s Sri Lanka counterpart Mahela Jayawardene is also clearly in fine form and has moved back into the top 20, up four places to 18th.

 

In the LG ICC Player Rankings for ODI all-rounders Pollock is still in top spot, ahead of South Africa team-mate Jacques Kallis in second and Sri Lanka veteran Sanath Jayasuriya in third position.

 

In the LG ICC ODI Championship Australia has stretched its lead at the top following its seven-wicket win over South Africa in the semi-final on Wednesday. The Proteas remain second with New Zealand third and Sri Lanka fourth.

 

Victory for Jayawardene’s team on Saturday will move it level with the Black Caps although it will stay fourth when the points are re-calculated past the decimal point.

 

LG ICC ODI Championship (after semi-finals of ICC Cricket World Cup 2007)

 

Rank Team Points

 

1 Australia 130

 

2 South Africa 124

 

3 New Zealand 113

 

4 Sri Lanka 112

 

5 Pakistan 110

 

6 India 106

 

7 England 104

 

8 West Indies 99

 

9 Bangladesh 45

 

10 Ireland 29

 

11 Zimbabwe 22

 

12 Kenya 0

 

(Developed by David Kendix)

 

LG ICC One-Day Rankings (after semi-finals of ICC Cricket World Cup 2007)

 

Batsmen

 

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

 

1 ( - ) Kevin Pietersen Eng 827 56.27 834 v Aus at Antigua 2007

 

2 ( - ) Ricky Ponting Aus 801 43.33 805 v SA at Johannesburg 2006

 

3 (+1) Mike Hussey Aus 766 58.90 863 v NZ at Perth 2007

 

4 (-1) ST Jayasuriya SL 757 33.17 838 v Ban at Pietermaritzburg 2003

 

5 (+2) Matthew Hayden Aus 748 44.04 854 v Ind at Centurion 2003

 

6 ( - ) RR Sarwan WI 746 44.55 798 v Ind at St Kitts 2006

 

7 (-2) Graeme Smith SA 740 39.29 784 v Ind at Kolkata 2005

 

8 ( - ) Mahendra Dhoni Ind 739 44.15 806 v WI at Kingston 2006

 

9 (+4) Michael Clarke Aus 728 45.49 749 v SA at Centurion 2006

 

10 (-1) Jacques Kallis SA 723 45.47 816 v WI at Johannesburg 2004

 

11 (-1) A Symonds Aus 722 39.25 774 v Ban at Fatullah 2006

 

12 ( - ) Mhd Yousuf Pak 713 41.40 777 v SA at Rawalpindi 2003

 

13= (+1) Rahul Dravid Ind 709 40.01 754 v WI at Kingston 2006

 

(+4) HH Gibbs SA 709 36.20 750 v SL at Durban 2003

 

15 (-4) KC Sangakkara SL 707 36.07 760 v Ind at Rajkot 2007

 

16 (-1) Chris Gayle WI 706 37.97 804 v Aus at Mumbai 2006

 

17 (-2) AB de Villiers SA 701 34.86 706 v Eng at Bridgetown 2007

 

18 (+4) M Jayawardene SL 699 33.07 737 v WI at Colombo (RPS) 2001

 

19 ( - ) Yuvraj Singh Ind 687 35.53 739 v WI at Port-of-Spain 2006

 

20 (-2) Adam Gilchrist Aus 684 35.55 820 v SL at Dambulla 2004

 

 

Bowlers

 

Rank (+/-) Player Team Points Ave Econ HS Ranking

 

1 ( - ) Shaun Pollock SA 897 24.02 3.71 920 v Pak at Johannesburg 2007

 

2 (+1) Nathan Bracken Aus 801 21.25 4.33 806 v SL at St George's 2007

 

3 (+2) Glenn McGrath Aus 794 22.00 3.88 903 v SA at Bloemfontein 2002

 

4 (-2) Shane Bond NZ 790 19.32 4.20 811 v SA at St George's 2007

 

5 (-1) Chaminda Vaas SL 785 26.65 4.17 861 v SA at Colombo (RPS) 2004

 

6 ( - ) M Muralitharan SL 769 22.59 3.84 913 v NZ at Sharjah 2002

 

7 ( - ) Daniel Vettori NZ 697 32.94 4.22 767 v Eng at Perth 2007

 

8 ( - ) Makhaya Ntini SA 694 23.59 4.41 782 v WI at Cape Town 2004

 

9 ( - ) Brett Lee Aus 690 22.65 4.69 853 v SA at Melbourne 2006

 

10 ( - ) Abdur Razzaq Ban 685 21.94 3.87 711 v Eng at Bridgetown 2007

 

11 ( - ) Andre Nel SA 662 27.61 4.63 666 v Eng at Bridgetown 2007

 

12 (+2) Brad Hogg Aus 661 27.16 4.48 661 v SA at St Lucia 2007

 

13 ( - ) Ian Bradshaw WI 652 29.48 4.35 792 v Ind at Ahmedabad 2006

 

14 (+1) Harbhajan Singh Ind 641 32.45 4.13 735 v WI at Bridgetown 2002

 

15 (-3) Andrew Hall SA 640 25.70 4.50 655 v Eng at Bridgetown 2007

 

16 (+5) Lasith Malinga SL 639* 23.40 4.76 639 v NZ at Kingston 2007

 

17= (-1) Ajit Agarkar Ind 635 27.55 5.03 676 v WI at Kuala Lumpur 2006

 

(-1) Andrew Flintoff Eng 635 25.88 4.38 755 v Ban at Dhaka 2003

 

19= (-1) Mhd Rafiq Ban 625 38.83 4.37 650 v Zim at Bogra 2006

 

(-1) M Mortaza Ban 625 28.82 4.55 679 v Ind at Port-of-Spn 2007

 

All-rounders

 

Rank (+/-) Player Team Points HS Ranking

 

1 ( - ) Shaun Pollock SA 459 483 v Pak at Johannesburg 2007

 

2 ( - ) Jacques Kallis SA 396 505 v WI at Bridgetown 2001

 

3 ( - ) ST Jayasuriya SL 390 463 v Pak at Lahore 1997

 

4 ( - ) Chris Gayle WI 381 511 v Zim at Harare 2003

 

5 ( - ) Andrew Flintoff Eng 373 544 v SL at The Rose Bowl 2004

 

For general information on the LG ICC ODI Championship and LG ICC ODI Player Rankings go to: http://www.icc-cricket.com/icc/odi/ and http://www.lgiccrankings.com.