Pollock tops bowling and all-rounder lists in LG ICC ODI Player Rankings

South Africa's Shaun Pollock is now top of both the bowling and all-rounder lists in the LG ICC ODI Player Rankings after three matches of his country's five-match ODI series against Australia.

Pollock was already top of the bowling chart, maintaining that position ahead of Glenn McGrath, but now the former South Africa captain has also overtaken England's Andrew Flintoff in the all-rounder list.

Pollock's 2-45 and 69 from 74 balls against Australia at Port Elizabeth on Sunday was a key factor in his rise and although that contribution was not enough to see his side to victory, it has been enough to give him a career-best haul of all-rounder rating points.

One look at the LG ICC Player Rankings for bowlers shows why South Africa are such an effective side at ODI level as they have four players in the top 20 listings.

Pollock is top and also in the top ten is Makhaya Ntini, fit again after missing the VB Series and fresh from his 6-22 at Cape Town on Friday. That has helped move him up three places to eighth in the list.

Also in that top 20 are Andre Nel (equal 17th), another player that has recovered from injury, and Andrew Hall (20th).

With the bat, Graeme Smith has surged into the top five, moving up four places to third position, although he is still short of his best-ever haul of rating points.

But apart from Smith there is only one other South Africa batsman in the top 20, Herschelle Gibbs in 20th place, with Boeta Dippenaar dropping down five places to 21st.

Australia are still the dominant force in the LG ICC ODI Player Rankings despite losing the first two matches of their series in South Africa, with five batsmen in the top 10 positions.

Captain Ricky Ponting, back in the side in Port Elizabeth after missing those first two matches, has moved to the top of the list ahead of team mate Adam Gilchrist and Andrew Symonds (6th), Michael Hussey (7th, with a career-best haul of rating points) and Michael Clarke (8th) are also in prominent positions.

McGrath is in second place in the bowling lists while Brett Lee is third and the other Australia player in the top 20 is Nathan Bracken (16th). Symonds is third in the all-rounder listings.

If South Africa can win both remaining matches in the ODI series they will cut Australia's lead at the top of the LG ICC ODI Championship table to just eight points (130 points for Australia and 122 for South Africa).

That would give plenty of encouragement to the sides chasing the world champions as Ponting's side were 19 points clear of the Proteas at the start of this series.

An Australian victory in those two remaining matches would mean their lead would be 17 points (134 to South Africa's 117), while one win each in those two games would give South Africa a 3-2 series win and mean Australia's lead would be 13 points (132 to 119 for South Africa).

Although one series is in full swing another has just finished with New Zealand beating the West Indies 4-1 in a five-match encounter.

New Zealand fast bowler Shane Bond cemented his place among the world's best by holding on to fourth place in the LG ICC ODI Rankings and he now has his best-ever haul of rating points.

His team mate, left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori, is another player that has held firm in the table and he remains in fifth place, while New Zealand have two other bowlers, Kyle Mills (13th) and Jacob Oram (17th) in the top 20.

With the bat it is a different story with New Zealand's highest-placed player, captain Stephen Fleming, in 28th place while Nathan Astle is in 31st spot.

Peter Fulton has moved up 11 places to 37th and Scott Styris is in joint 38th place.

Looking at the table it is easy to see why the West Indies are currently struggling for form so badly in ODIs. They have two batsmen, Ramnaresh Sarwan (11th) and Chris Gayle (18th) in the top 20 but their bowlers barely figure.

Their highest-placed bowler is Ian Bradshaw, in 15th place and just short of his highest haul of rating points, but the next-highest placed bowler on the tour is Gayle, in 49th position.

New Zealand moved up one rating point as a result of their series win and are now in third place in the LG ICC ODI Championship table, ahead of India* (also on 113 points) when the ratings are recalculated to three decimal points.

The schedule for the remaining matches of the South Africa v Australia ODI series is as follows:

10 March - Fourth ODI, Durban
12 March - Fifth ODI, Johannesburg

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

* India, as hosts, will automatically qualify for the second stage of next year's ICC Champions Trophy even if they are outside the top six of the LG ICC ODI Championship table on 1 April 2006. If they are outside that top six then the sixth-placed side in the table will take part in the preliminary round.