Harmison closes in on top spot
Stephen Harmison's six-wicket haul in the third Test against New Zealand at Trent Bridge has enabled him to further close in on the top spot in the PwC bowlers' ratings
Wisden Cricinfo staff
14-Jun-2004
Stephen Harmison's six-wicket haul in the third Test against New Zealand at Trent Bridge has enabled him to further close in on the top spot in the PwC bowlers' ratings. In the latest list, Harmison is ranked second with a career-best 880 points, just 24 fewer than Muttiah Muralitharan.
There were two other bowlers who made significant progress after turning in superb performances in the third Test - Chris Cairns's nine wickets in his final match ensured that he climbed up six places to No. 14, while Ashley Giles jumped nine spots to No. 29 after a match haul of 6 for 116.
| Rank | Bowler | Points | Ave |
| 1 | Muralitharan | 904 | 22.76 |
| 2 | Harmison | 880 | 23.77 |
| 3 | Pollock | 837 | 21.46 |
| 4 | Shoaib | 826 | 24.47 |
| 5 | Warne | 777 | 25.42 |
| 6 | McGrath | 775 | 21.71 |
| 7 | Kumble | 751 | 28.22 |
| 8 | Gillespie | 746 | 25.56 |
| 9 | Ntini | 722 | 29.67 |
| 10 | Vaas | 653 | 30.21 |
Among the batsmen, Stephen Fleming and Scott Styris - New Zealand's two centurions in the match - profited the most after the Test. Fleming moved up nine places to No. 20 while Styris climbed eight ranks to No. 33. Marcus Trescothick was England's highest-ranked batsman at No. 16, just one spot ahead of Graham Thorpe, whose matchwinning hundred helped him move up two places.
| Rank | Batsman | Points | Ave |
| 1 | Lara | 895 | 53.71 |
| 2 | Dravid | 892 | 58.09 |
| 3 | Hayden | 881 | 57.48 |
| 4 | Ponting | 864 | 54.71 |
| 5 | Kallis | 833 | 54.07 |
| 6 | Gibbs | 815 | 49.40 |
| 7 | Inzamam | 785 | 49.63 |
| 8 | Tendulkar | 784 | 57.39 |
| 9 | Sehwag | 782 | 52.72 |
| 10 | Richardson | 761 | 47.94 |
Click here for the complete ratings.