Muralitharan consolidates top position

Muttiah Muralitharan heads the Pricewaterhouse Coopers' ratings for Test bowlers. The latest list was announced after the first Test between Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka at Harare. In the same game, Muralitharan overtook Courtney Walsh's Test record of 519 wickets when he had Mluleki Nkala caught by Mahele Jayawardene at short leg.

There is no change in the top 15 positions in the bowlers list, with Shaun Pollock and Shoaib Akhtar retaining second and third spots. The most significant improvement has been that of Nuwan Zoysa, who has moved up 17 places to the 35th spot. Zoysa picked up eight wickets in Sri Lanka's latest demolition job at Harare.

There is not much change in the batting list too, with the top 13 positions remaining unchanged. After amassing hundreds at Harare, Sanath Jayasuriya and Marvan Atapattu have improved their standings considerably. Jayasuriya is in 22nd place, up five spots, while Atapattu improves six places to 32nd.