Lee and Steyn move up ICC rankings

Dale Steyn finished with 10 for 93 in the first Test against New Zealand at the Wanderers © AFP

On the back of their match-winning performances with the ball, Dale Steyn and Brett Lee have broken into the top ten in the ICC player rankings for Test bowlers.

Lee and Steyn jump into joint eighth position after their performances against Sri Lanka and New Zealand in the first of the coinciding two-Test contests being held in Australia and South Africa. Lee finished with figures of 8 for 112 at the Gabba, while Steyn bagged his first ten-wicket haul at The Wanderers as both their teams registered convincing victories. This is the first time the two bowlers have been placed in the top ten and they could move up further during the Tests beginning later this week in Hobart and Centurion.

The other change in the top ten for Test bowlers is the advance of Stuart Clark to third place at the expense of Shane Bond, who dropped to fourth. Bond has been ruled out for at least four to six weeks after suffering an abdominal tear.

Jacques Kallis's continued run of prolific scores has seen him displace Mohammad Yousuf from the second position in the rankings for Test batsmen, one place behind Ricky Ponting. Kallis also extended his lead in the rankings for Test allrounders, where he is in first place ahead of Andrew Flintoff.

LG ICC Player Rankings
Rank	Name	Country	Rating
1	R.T. Ponting	AUS	936
2	J.H. Kallis	SA	921
3	Mohammad Yousuf	PAK	908
4	K.C. Sangakkara	SL	891
5	K.P. Pietersen	ENG	872
6	M.E.K. Hussey	AUS	854
7	Younis Khan	PAK	828
8	M.L. Hayden	AUS	825
9	S. Chanderpaul	WI	762
10	R. Dravid	IND	748
	Top 100

LG ICC Player Rankings
Rank	Name	Country	Rating
1	M. Muralidaran	SL	913
2	M. Ntini	SA	824
3	S.R. Clark	AUS	750
4	S.E. Bond	NZ	731
5	S.M. Pollock	SA	708
6	A. Kumble	IND	702
7	M.J. Hoggard	ENG	700
8	D.W. Steyn	SA	691
8	B. Lee	AUS	691
10	Shoaib Akhtar	PAK	684
	Top 100

LG ICC Player Rankings
Rank	Name	Country	Rating
1	J.H. Kallis	SA	539
2	A. Flintoff	ENG	361
3	S.M. Pollock	SA	335
4	D.L. Vettori	NZ	324
5	W.P.U.J.C. Vaas	SL	260
6	C.H. Gayle	WI	237
7	I.K. Pathan	IND	229
8	B. Lee	AUS	216
9	A. Kumble	IND	210
10	D.J.J. Bravo	WI	202
	Top 10