Pietersen goes top of the LG ICC Player Rankings for ODI batsmen

England player Kevin Pietersen has gone top of the LG ICC Player Rankings for ODI batsmen for the first time in his career following a solid start to the ICC Cricket World Cup for the 26-year-old.

So far in the tournament Pietersen has scored a total of 121 runs at an average of 60.50, including half-centuries against New Zealand and Kenya in Group C. He is the first England player to top the rankings since Marcus Trescothick did so for one match in 2005 and only the third in history with Allan Lamb doing so back in 1989.

Pietersen replaces Michael Hussey at the top of the LG ICC Player Rankings for ODI batsmen as the Australia left-hander has had a string of low scores in recent weeks. Hussey has dropped two places to third position while his captain Ricky Ponting moves up to second.

However, it is still very tight between those three, with just 12 ratings points separating them, so there is plenty of time left in the ICC Cricket World Cup for Hussey to remedy the situation and claim back top spot.

There has been plenty of other movement within the top ten batsmen with Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara moving up three places to fourth position, South Africa captain Graeme Smith up four places to fifth spot, level with Mahendra Singh Dhoni of India who has dropped three places.

Veteran Sri Lanka opener Sanath Jayasuriya is also moving in the right direction, up three places to seventh position while Chris Gayle of the West Indies and Andrew Symonds of Australia have both dropped three places to eighth and ninth positions respectively.

Following his 66-ball century against South Africa, Australian slugger Matthew Hayden is back into the top 20, up four places to 19th spot. Also showing good form early in the CWC is South Africa's AB de Villiers, who is up no fewer than 12 places and into the top 20 for the first time in his career.

Meanwhile, New Zealand pacer Shane Bond has climbed to second position in the LG ICC Player Rankings for ODI bowlers for the first time, illustrating the good form that the Black Caps are in at present.

Bond has moved up five places and is now level in second spot with Sri Lanka spinner Muttiah Muralidaran who, following a brilliant start to the tournament for him, is up seven places for his highest ranking for more than a year.

They are both, however, still a long way short of displacing South Africa's Shaun Pollock at the top. Pollock was uncharacteristically expensive against Australia in Saturday's Group A match at Warner Park, St Kitts, but is still some 155 ratings points clear of Bond and Muralidaran at the top of the rankings.

Pollock's team-mate Andrew Hall is now enjoying his highest ranking of 17th while Sri Lanka fast bowler Lasith Malinga has broken into the top 20 for the first time.

Bangladesh's bowling has also impressed many during the group stage of the CWC and it now boasts three players in the top 15 - Abdur Razzaq (11th position), Mushrafe Mortaza (12th) and Mohammed Rafiq (15th).

The form of the West Indies bowlers is also starting to show in the rankings with Jerome Taylor looking set to break into the top 20 and Daren Powell poised to feature in the top 50 for the first time if their good form continues.

Following its surprise win over Pakistan in Group D and subsequent progression into the Super Eight stage, some Ireland players have made inroads in the rankings. Andre Botha has become the first Ireland bowler to break into the top 100 while Jeremy Bray is into the top 100 batsmen following his impressive century against Zimbabwe.

It is worth noting that players get extra credit for good performances against the top sides in ICC Cricket World Cup matches so players in teams that have made it into the Super Eight stage have a good chance of making further climbs over the coming weeks. With the exception of Dhoni all players in the top ten of the LG ICC Player Rankings for both ODI batsmen and ODI bowlers are in teams that have qualified for the Super Eights.