Career-best ratings for Ntini and Smith
Makhaya Ntini has climbed four places to 6th in the PwC Ratings, after demolishing England at Lord's with match figures of 10 for 220, while his captain, Graeme Smith, has leapt seven places to 12th in the batting stakes
Wisden CricInfo staff
04-Aug-2003
Makhaya Ntini has climbed four places to 6th in the PwC Ratings, after demolishing England at Lord's with match figures of 10 for 220, while his captain, Graeme Smith, has leapt seven places to 12th in the batting stakes. Smith, who has yet to qualify for a full rating because he is a relative newcomer to Test cricket, has every chance of breaking into the top ten before the end of the series, after picking up 621 runs in his first three innings alone.
It is the highest rating yet achieved by both Ntini and Smith, although not all the South Africans have been upwardly mobile this week. Shaun Pollock has slipped back to second spot in the bowling, after his mauling from Andrew Flintoff on the final day, although he is a single point behind the new leader, Muttiah Muralitharan.
Flintoff himself has jumped 18 places after his brutal 142 from 146 balls, although he is way down the list at No. 61. England, however, still have six batsmen in the top 30, including Michael Vaughan at No. 3, and Graham Thorpe - who may be back in the side by the time the third Test starts at Trent Bridge next week.
England's bowlers have all slipped in the ratings. The most significant mover is Darren Gough, who is now out of the top 20 and at his lowest rating for six years.
Rank (Change) Player Team Points Average Highest
1 (-) Brian Lara WI 887 51.55 908
2 (+1) S.R.Tendulkar Ind 843 57.58 899
3 (-1) Michael Vaughan Eng 836 50.21 877
4 (-) Matthew Hayden Aus 821 52.00 935
5 (-) Ricky Ponting Aus 816 51.11 858
6 (-) Jacques Kallis SA 804 50.40 849
7 (-) Adam Gilchrist Aus 799 58.80 876
8 (-) Inzamam-ul-Haq Pak 793 48.92 857
9 (+1) Rahul Dravid Ind 789 53.46 875
10 (-1) H.H.Gibbs SA 785 45.18 815
11 (-) Mark Richardson NZ 767 48.73 767
12 (+7) Graeme Smith SA 753* 78.62 753
13 (-1) K.C.Sangakkara SL 737 48.20 816
14 (-1) Steve Waugh Aus 730 51.07 896
15 (-1) M.Jayawardene SL 717 47.24 840
16 (-1) Justin Langer Aus 713 45.86 783
17 (-1) Yousuf Youhana Pak 692 47.71 762
18 (-1) S.Chanderpaul WI 690 44.20 737
19 (+1) Stephen Fleming NZ 673 38.60 692
20= (+3) Mark Butcher Eng 668 34.26 684
(+2) Damien Martyn Aus 668 46.51 806
Rank (Change) Player Team Points Average Highest
1 (+1) M.Muralitharan SL 861 23.55 915
2 (-1) Shaun Pollock SA 860 20.70 910
3 (-) Glenn McGrath Aus 848 21.71 914
4 (-) Harbhajan Singh Ind 746 26.59 763
5 (-) Jason Gillespie Aus 740 24.92 778
6 (+4) Makhaya Ntini SA 739 28.16 739
7= (-) Stuart MacGill Aus 691 26.22 763
(-) Shoaib Akhtar Pak 691* 27.18 710
(-1) Andrew Caddick Eng 691 29.91 734
10 (-1) Anil Kumble Ind 688 28.00 872
11 (-) Saqlain Mushtaq Pak 680 28.93 764
12 (-) Jacques Kallis SA 669 28.60 713
13 (-) Waqar Younis Pak 650 23.56 909
14 (-) Daryl Tuffey NZ 643* 26.85 663
15 (-) Zaheer Khan Ind 634* 33.35 634
16 (-) Mervyn Dillon WI 619 32.23 692
17 (-) Heath Streak Zim 614 26.85 795
18 (-) Shane Bond NZ 613* 24.30 636
19 (+2) Chaminda Vaas SL 572 30.67 723
20 (-) Matthew Hoggard Eng 569* 33.62 719