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DUBAI—Kumar
Sangakkara’s tremendous form is poised to take him
clear of Australian Ricky Ponting at the top of the LG International
Cricket Council (ICC) Player Rankings for Test batsmen this
week.
Sangakarra is preparing for the third and final Test against
England at Galle on the back recent form that led him to
scoring a record four innings in excess of 150 runs in consecutive
matches. Ponting and Sangakarra are sharing top spot, locked
on 936 ratings points, and with South Africa’s Jacques
Kallis just one point behind in third position, there is
a fierce battle for the ratings’ top spot.
Kallis, too, has the chance to stake his own claim for the
number-one position. The Proteas take on the West Indies
in a three-Test series, starting in Port Elizabeth on Boxing
Day (December 26) and Kallis—enjoying solid form—is
a huge threat to the top two.
For the West Indies/South Africa series, the home side will
be going in with as many of four players—one batsman
and three bowler—currently holding spots in the LG
ICC Top-10 ratings. Pacers Makhaya Ntini and Dale Steyn,
at number2 and number three respectively on the bowlers’
list, and Shaun Pollock number nine join Kallis to complete
the South African quartet in the top frame of the ratings.
Only one West Indian, Shivnarine Chanderpaul—at number
ten in the batting—makes the top frame in the current
ratings. Dwayne Bravo and Chris Gayle, at 27th and 28th
respectively, are the only other West Indies batsmen in
the top thirty. Corey Collymore, omitted from the squad
for their African tour, is the only West Indies bowler in
the top thirty. He is 11th and the next highest rated Caribbean
bowler is Pedro Collins at 31st.
Kallis is the top-rated all-rounder, ahead of England’s
Andrew Flintoff and Pollock, with New Zealand’s Daniel
Vettori in fourth place. (CMC)
Latest
Test rankings
Top-10
Batsmen
1 Ricky Ponting (AUS)
1 Kumar Sangakkara (SL)
3 Jacques Kallis (SA)
4 Mohammed Yousuf (PAK)
5 Mike Hussey (AUS)
6 Kevin Pietersen (ENG)
7 Matthew Hayden (AUS)
8 Younus Khan (PAK)
9 Mahela Jayawardena (SL)
10 Shivnarine Chanderpaul (WI)
27th Dwayne Bravo (WI)
28th Chris Gayle (WI)
Top-10 Bowlers
1 Muttiah Muralitharan (SL)
2 Makhaya Ntini (SA)
3 Dale Steyn (SA)
4 Stuart Clark (AUS)
5 Anil Kumble (IND)
6 Brett Lee (AUS)
6 Matthew Hoggard (ENG)
8 Shane Bond (NZ)
9 Shaun Pollock (SA)
10 Shoaib Akhtar (PAK)
11th Corey Collymore (WI)
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