Jayawardene on the rise in LG ICC Player Rankings

Sri Lanka acting captain Mahela Jayawardene's superb rearguard action that helped draw the first Test against England at Lord's has seen him rewarded in the LG ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen.

Jayawardene's double of 61 and 119 that earned him the man of the match award has also lifted him up three spots to 13th in the list, his highest ranking since 2004.

He is now just two places below team-mate Kumar Sangakkara, Sri Lanka's leading batsman in a list that is topped by Australia's Ricky Ponting with Rahul Dravid of India in second position.

The other major movement in that list as a result of the Lord's Test is Kevin Pietersen's appearance in the top 20 for the first time.

The England batsman's 158, his third Test hundred which equaled his highest score, has lifted him up nine places to 17th position with his best-ever tally of rating points.

There are, however, still two England batsmen ahead of him, opener Marcus Trescothick, holding firm in 10th spot after his 14th Test hundred, and Andrew Strauss, slipping one place to 14th.

Further down, Andrew Flintoff is 23rd while Paul Collingwood has moved up five spots to 50th place, his first appearance in the top 50.

With two totals in excess of 500, the match at Lord's is unlikely to be one many bowlers will remember with too much fondness but Muttiah Muralidaran's three wickets in his first Test appearance there are enough to keep him on top of the LG ICC Player Rankings for Test bowlers, ahead of South Africa's Makhaya Ntini.

Matthew Hoggard, who captured his 200th Test wicket in Sri Lanka's first innings, remains England's highest-placed bowler in fifth position, one spot ahead of acting captain Flintoff. Both players' rankings are unchanged but Hoggard now has a career-high haul of rating points.

Sri Lanka left-armer Chaminda Vaas has dropped one spot to ninth position while further down, in joint 14th place, is Stephen Harmison, hoping to be fit for the second Test starting at Edgbaston, Birmingham on 25 May.

Flintoff has retained his place as the leading Test all-rounder ahead of South Africa's Jacques Kallis but Vaas's defiance with the bat in both innings, scoring 81 runs in the match, has seen him rise two spots and he is now just outside the top five, in sixth position.

Any series win will improve England's rating in the LG ICC Test Championship table and see it close the gap on top side Australia while Sri Lanka can improve its rating points tally with a drawn or winning series.

The schedule for the remaining England - Sri Lanka Test matches is as follows:

25 - 29 May - Second Test, Edgbaston, Birmingham
2 - 6 June - Third Test, Trent Bridge, Nottingham

Full details of the current LG ICC Test Championship and how future results will impact on the table, as well as the LG ICC Player Rankings can be found here