Glenn McGrath: back on top of the world rankings © Getty Images Enlarge

Glenn McGrath's 8 for 24 against Pakistan in their second innings at Perth propelled him to the top of the PricewaterhouseCoopers Ratings for bowlers - a position he hasn't held since April 2003. Steve Harmison, who had been No. 1 before him, dropped three places after finishing with 1 for 142, his worst figures in a Test, at Port Elizabeth. But Harmison, McGrath, Muttiah Muralitharan and Shoaib Akhtar are close enough together that the top spot could change again before the end of January. Further down, Michael Kasprowicz moved up to 14th after his five-wicket haul in the first innings at Perth, just behind Andrew Flintoff, who has reached a career-high 622 points.

Rahul Dravid's 160 against Bangladesh consolidated his No. 1 ranking in the batting while Mohammad Ashraful became the second Bangladeshi, after Habibul Bashar, to break into the top 50, thanks to his heroic unbeaten 158 at Chittagong. Justin Langer, who has scored 549 runs in his last four innings, has climbed to ninth, while Andrew Strauss's matchwinning efforts in the first Test against South Africa moved into the top 25 for the first time.

For the full listings click on the PwC Ratings official site here.