Hussey on top of the world
Michael Hussey's phenomenal run of form has moved him to the top of the International Cricket Council rankings for one-day international batsmen for the first time
Cricinfo staff
27-Sep-2006
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Michael Hussey's phenomenal run of form has moved him to the top of the International Cricket Council rankings for one-day international batsmen for the first time following the DLF Cup in Kuala Lumpur. Meanwhile, India's failure to reach the final of the tri-series has resulted in a two-place slip to No.5 in the ICC Championship table.
Hussey, 31, went into the DLF Cup at seventh place, but an unbeaten century against West Indies and an average of 152 shot him into first place. Only 12 batsmen have reached higher ratings than Hussey's mark of 805 points in the past 10 years. With the Champions Trophy beginning in India next month, Hussey will have an opportunity to better his tally. No international batsman has reached 900 rating points since South Africa's Gary Kirsten in 1996.
Incidentally, Hussey displaced Adam Gilchrist, who did not take part in the Malaysia tournament, from the top spot. Ricky Ponting, the Australian captain, has slipped from second to fourth place. Mahendra Singh Dhoni's poor tournament - just 23 runs from four innings - slipped him down to eighth position.
In the bowling category, Brett Lee's 12 wickets from three matches moved him back into second place. Lee is still well behind South Africa's Shaun Pollock who retains his status as the world's top-ranked bowler and all-rounder in ODIs. Nathan Bracken has moved up to fourth in the bowling list, a career best placing, while Ian Bradshaw ends the tournament where he started, in sixth place.
Rank | Batsman | Points | Average |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Michael Hussey | 805 | 81.75 |
2 | Adam Gilchrist | 789 | 36.42 | 3 | Ramnaresh Sarwan | 769 | 45.98 |
4 | Ricky Ponting | 758 | 42.04 | 5 | Andrew Symonds | 752 | 38.75 |
India have the same number of points as Pakistan and New Zealand but now sit below both sides in a tightly packed section of that table when the ratings are re-calculated to three decimal places. The West Indies have taken the seventh position, three points ahead of England and five points behind Sri Lanka. Australia still occupy the first place, seven points ahead of South Africa at No.2.
Rank | Team | Rating |
---|---|---|
1 | Australia | 131 |
2 | South Africa | 124 |
3 | Pakistan | 111 |
4 | New Zealand | 111 |
5 | India | 111 |
6 | Sri Lanka | 107 |
7 | West Indies | 102 |
8 | England | 99 |
9 | Zimbabwe | 33 |
10 | Bangladesh | 33 |
Click here for the full ICC rankings.