Ponting tops the charts

Ricky Ponting contemplates his bank account © Getty Images

The rise of Ricky Ponting and the decline of Glenn McGrath have received official confirmation, with Ponting supplanting McGrath as Australia's top-ranked and highest-paid player.

Australia's selectors have for the first time rated Ponting at No. 1 among the country's 25 contracted cricketers, News Ltd has revealed.

McGrath had held the position for at least the previous three years but has little cause for complaint. Hobbled by lingering ankle ailments, he looked flat in two Tests against Bangladesh last winter and hasn't been sighted since under the baggy green.

Ponting, meanwhile, has racked up 1232 runs at 72.47 in Tests over the past 12 months and 1159 runs at 44.57 in one-dayers. He has also, temporarily at least, eradicated the Australian dead-rubber syndrome, leading the team to an unprecedented 3-0 whitewash of Sri Lanka in his first foray as Test captain.

The full list is kept secret, with the players told only of their own individual ranking, so it is unclear how far McGrath has slipped down the pecking order. But steady at No. 2 is Adam Gilchrist, ensuring - along with his $2m lifetime deal with Puma announced last week - that he won't be short of a quid anytime soon.

The surprise mover is Michael Kasprowicz, who after starting last summer without a contract has reportedly leapfrogged to No. 8 with a bullet. After 14 summers of domestic anonymity interrupted by sporadic Test cameos, Kasprowicz bowled with plenty of guile and considerable grunt throughout the entire series in Sri Lanka. He took a wicket every time he bowled, finishing with 12 at 25.17.

Ponting will earn a $400,000-plus base fee and is expected to pocket a total salary of more than $1m from Cricket Australia, News Ltd reported. The selectors compile individual player ratings for Test and one-day matches, with extra weighting given for Tests, in assembling the top 25.