PwC Ratings: Australian side shows all-round strength

We recently received the following question by email from a cricket fan in Ireland:

"Please, why is it that England have three bowlers in the PwC top ten for ODI's, when they did not even make the second round of the recent world cup of cricket, whereas the current world champions (Australia) have only 2 bowlers in the top ten, as do the runners-up Pakistan, and South Africa?"

Part of the answer is that England's one day bowling over the last year has indeed been relatively strong. Gough, Mullally and Ealham have excellent one day records since the start of 1999 - as does Caddick, though he is relatively inexperienced in ODIs and so is still qualifying for a full rating.

The ratings suggest that when at full strength, the strongest bowling team in one day cricket is Pakistan (all five bowlers are in the top 30), followed by Australia, South Africa and England.

However, in answer to the Irish question, where England has under-performed is in the batting. In the latest PwC Ratings, following Australia's series win against NZ, Australia has four batsmen in the top ten. By contrast, only four of the England team that played in Zimbabwe are in the top HUNDRED - Hick, Knight, Hussain and (in 86th place) Ealham. That reflects - or perhaps explains - England's batting fragility in so many games.

The top batting side according to the ratings is Australia, probably followed by India and South Africa. In contrast to its great team of the 1980s, the West Indies is very poorly represented in the batting, with out-of-form Lara their top batsman at 16th.

Latest ratings below:

PricewaterhouseCoopers One-Day International Ratings Batsmen

After New Zealand v Australia, Auckland, 3rd March 2000

Changes since the 23rd February.

Rank (Change) Player Team Points Career Average Highest Rating

1 ( - ) Michael Bevan Aus 800 57.92 838 v Ind at Galle 1999 2 ( - ) Sourav Ganguly Ind 781 42.89 807 v Pak at Adelaide 2000 3 ( - ) Lance Klusener SA 776 47.39 806 v Zim at Nairobi 1999 4 ( - ) Jacques Kallis SA 744 41.15 755 v Zim at Port Elizabeth 2000 5 (+2) Nathan Astle NZ 740 36.06 748 v Aus at Napier 2000 6 (-1) Ricky Ponting Aus 732 40.57 758 v Eng at Melbourne 1999 7 (-1) Neil Johnson Zim 725 * 37.29 734 v Eng at Bulawayo 2000 8 ( - ) Mark Waugh Aus 692 38.76 828 v NZ at Chennai 1996 9 (+5) Adam Gilchrist Aus 691 33.70 743 v Eng at Melbourne 1999 10 (-1) Sachin TendulkarInd 679 42.15 854 v Sri at Delhi 1996 11 ( - ) Graeme Hick Eng 674 38.60 781 v HOL at Peshawar 1996 12 (-2) Roger Twose NZ 670 37.70 675 v Aus at Dunedin 2000 13= (-1) Graham Thorpe Eng 668 40.59 727 v WI at Sharjah 1997 (-1) Rahul Dravid Ind 668 37.38 717 v Pak at Manchester 1999 15 ( - ) Saeed Anwar Pak 665 38.92 794 v NZ at Sharjah 1996 16 ( - ) Brian Lara WI 657 42.38 900 v Aus at Perth 1997 17 ( - ) Nick Knight Eng 653 40.08 706 v Sri at Sydney 1999 18 ( - ) Hansie Cronje SA 643 37.75 800 v NZ at Centurion 1994 19 ( - ) Ajay Jadeja Ind 620 37.36 681 v Zim at Singapore 1999 20 ( - ) Yousuf Youhana Pak 614 39.20 640 v Ind at Brisbane 2000 21 ( - ) Marvan Atapattu Sri 612 34.95 680 v Eng at Lord's 1998 22 (+1) Steve Waugh Aus 605 31.86 756 v WI at Chennai 1989 23 (-1) SanathJayasuriyaSri 603 28.38 804 v Pak at Lahore 1997 24= ( - ) Inzamam-ul-Haq Pak 596 37.98 772 v Eng at Karachi 1996 ( - ) Herschelle GibbsSA 596 28.11 682 v Zim at Johannesburg 2000 26 (+5) Stephen Fleming NZ 592 32.08 672 v WI at Port-of-Spain 1996 27 (-1) Andy Flower Zim 589 32.48 630 v Ken at Nairobi 1999 28 (-1) Aravindade SilvaSri 586 35.45 842 v Pak at Sharjah 1997 29 ( - ) S.Chanderpaul WI 582 34.35 739 v SA at Durban 1999 30 (-2) Chris Cairns NZ 580 27.81 621 v Eng at Auckland 1997 31 (-1) Ijaz Ahmed, sen.Pak 579 32.28 705 v WI at Melbourne 1997 32 (+15) Damien Martyn Aus 572 36.06 572 v NZ at Auckland 2000 33 ( - ) Chris Harris NZ 568 32.09 585 v Zim at Auckland 1998 34 (-2) Grant Flower Zim 563 33.18 700 v Sri at Sharjah 1998 35 (-1) Daryll Cullinan SA 558 34.56 775 v Pak at Lahore 1997 36= (-1) Jonty Rhodes SA 557 31.34 720 v Aus at Cape Town 1997 (-1) Gary Kirsten SA 557 39.09 866 v Aus at Indore 1996 38 (-1) Neil FairbrotherEng 553 39.47 722 v Aus at Manchester 1993 39 (-1) RS.KaluwitharanaSri 552 21.23 575 v WI at Sharjah 1999 40 ( - ) Steven Tikolo Ken 545 * 32.10 545 v SA at Nairobi 1999 41 (-2) Darren Lehmann Aus 543 32.48 716 v WI at Port-of-Spain 1999 42 (-1) Alec Stewart Eng 537 30.16 715 v WI at Bridgetown 1998 43 (-1) M.Azharuddin Ind 534 37.34 804 v WI at Calcutta 1993 44 (-1) Arjuna RanatungaSri 533 35.84 776 v SA at Bloemfontein 1994 45 (-1) Moin Khan Pak 524 23.59 571 v Ind at Manchester 1999 46 (-1) Murray Goodwin Zim 522 26.40 543 v SA at Johannesburg 2000 47 (-1) AlistairCampbell Zim 521 27.98 594 v Ind at Sharjah 1998 48 ( - ) Sherwin Campbell WI 517 25.58 548 v Pak at Toronto 1999 49 ( - ) Robin Singh Ind 515 27.50 525 v Sri at Colombo (SSC) 1999 50 ( - ) Abdur Razzaq Pak 504 * 25.93 504 v Sri at Lahore 2000 51 ( - ) Ravindu Shah Ken 503 * 33.68 523 v Ind at Nairobi 1999 52= ( - ) Nasser Hussain Eng 500 26.62 534 v Zim at Kimberley 2000 ( - ) Shaun Pollock SA 500 27.90 565 v Eng at Birmingham 1998 54 ( - ) Jimmy Adams WI 494 30.45 503 v NZ at Taupo 2000 55 (+1) Russel Arnold Sri 492 * 37.40 509 v Pak at Gujranwala 2000 56 (+1) M. Jayawardene Sri 491 24.18 491 v Pak at Lahore 2000 57 (+1) Shahid Afridi Pak 489 23.34 633 v Ind at Lahore 1997 58 (+2) Stuart Williams WI 473 32.36 692 v Eng at Bridgetown 1998 59= ( - ) Adam Parore NZ 470 27.86 657 v Pak at Karachi 1996 (+2) Ridley Jacobs WI 470 22.00 478 v NZ at Wellington 2000 61 (-6) Andrew Symonds Aus 460 * 31.92 493 v NZ at Dunedin 2000 62 ( - ) Maurice Odumbe Ken 457 * 25.58 475 v Sri at Southampton 1999 63 ( - ) Wasim Akram Pak 455 16.08 488 v Aus at Sharjah 1990 64 ( - ) Roshan Mahanama Sri 453 29.49 630 v Zim at Harare 1994 65 ( - ) Ricardo Powell WI 448 * 27.80 510 v Pak at Toronto 1999 66= (+1) H.Tillekeratne Sri 442 29.64 555 v Aus at Perth 1996 (+1) Guy Whittall Zim 442 23.15 510 v Pak at Harare 1998 68 (+1) Matthew Horne NZ 435 20.00 471 v Pak at Manchester 1999 69 (+1) Stuart Carlisle Zim 433 * 21.37 433 v Eng at Harare 2000 70 (+1) Kennedy Otieno Ken 431 * 27.64 493 v Zim at Nairobi 1997 71 (-5) Craig McMillan NZ 429 22.05 515 v Pak at Derby 1999 72 ( - ) Phil Simmons WI 428 28.93 651 v Pak at Sharjah 1993 73 ( - ) Akram Khan Ban 427 * 23.55 431 v Pak at Northampton 1999 74= ( - ) S. Ramesh Ind 426 * 28.08 462 v Zim at Nairobi 1999 ( - ) Gavin Hamilton Sco/Eng 426 * 54.25 426 v NZ at Edinburgh 1999 76 ( - ) Salim Malik Pak 421 32.89 798 v WI at Calcutta 1989 77= ( - ) Aamir Sohail Pak 420 31.86 762 v SA at Sharjah 1996 ( - ) Thomas Odoyo Ken 420 * 19.00 420 v SA at Nairobi 1999 79 (+17) Matthew Hayden Aus 418 * 31.80 418 v NZ at Auckland 2000 80 (-1) Aminul Islam Ban 414 * 24.25 437 v Ken at Hyderabad 1998 81 (-1) Hitesh Modi Ken 413 * 24.83 431 v Zim at Dhaka 1999 82 (-1) Azhar Mahmood Pak 411 18.37 425 v Aus at Sydney 2000 83 (-1) Adam Hollioake Eng 405 * 25.25 444 v Aus at Sydney 1999 84 (-1) Mehrab Hossain Ban 399 * 32.70 416 v Aus at Chester-le-Stree 1999 85 (-1) Heath Streak Zim 380 21.23 404 v SA at Durban 2000 86 (-1) Mark Ealham Eng 379 * 17.93 388 v Zim at Bulawayo 2000 87 (-1) Paul Strang Zim 364 22.55 500 v Ken at Nairobi 1997 88 (-1) Shahriar HossainBan 359 * 23.13 359 v WI at Dhaka 1999 89 (-1) Wavell Hinds WI 357 * 25.16 375 v Sri at Sharjah 1999 90 (-1) Upul Chandana Sri 352 15.73 410 v Aus at Colombo (RPS) 1999 91 ( - ) Craig Wishart Zim 340 * 18.55 444 v Ind at Sharjah 1998 92= (-2) Shane Lee Aus 338 * 18.09 360 v Ind at Adelaide 2000 ( - ) Mark Boucher SA 338 * 13.68 338 v Eng at Johannesburg 2000 ( - ) W. Wasti Pak 338 * 24.21 398 v WI at Toronto 1999 95 (-1) Keith Arthurton WI 335 26.08 572 v Ind at Calcutta 1994 96 (-1) Minhazul Abedin Ban 333 * 18.87 336 v Pak at Northampton 1999 97= (+1) Nayan Mongia Ind 326 20.45 448 v Pak at Toronto 1996 (-1) Craig Spearman NZ 326 17.39 437 v Sri at Sharjah 1996 99 ( - ) Sunil Joshi Ind 325 * 19.45 332 v NZ at Delhi 1999 100 ( - ) Dipak Chudasama Ken 322 * 22.84 414 v Zim at Nairobi 1997

PricewaterhouseCoopers One-Day International Ratings Bowlers

After New Zealand v Australia, Auckland, 3rd March 2000

Changes since the 23rd February.

Rank (Change) Player Team Points Career Average Highest Rating

1 ( - ) Shaun Pollock SA 874 22.56 874 v Eng at Johannesburg 2000 2 ( - ) Glenn McGrath Aus 819 23.52 848 v NZ at Dunedin 2000 3 ( - ) Darren Gough Eng 783 23.14 792 v SA at Johannesburg 2000 4 ( - ) M.Muralitharan Sri 775 27.12 797 v WI at Sharjah 1999 5 ( - ) Alan Mullally Eng 746 * 26.62 752 v Zim at Bulawayo 2000 6 (+3) Shane Warne Aus 735 24.48 843 v WI at Chandigarh 1996 7 (-1) Allan Donald SA 732 21.04 814 v Aus at Melbourne 1998 8 (-1) Wasim Akram Pak 727 23.55 863 v SA at Karachi 1994 9 (-1) Saqlain Mushtaq Pak 718 20.41 840 v WI at Sydney 1997 10 (-1) Mark Ealham Eng 714 29.83 770 v Zim at Kimberley 2000 11 ( - ) Curtly Ambrose WI 712 24.01 913 v SA at Port Elizabeth 1993 12 (+1) Damien Fleming Aus 697 24.10 750 v Zim at Harare 1999 13 (-1) Azhar Mahmood Pak 696 34.17 796 v Zim at The Oval 1999 14 ( - ) Abdur Razzaq Pak 680 * 23.67 680 v Sri at Lahore 2000 15 ( - ) Courtney Walsh WI 679 30.47 831 v Ind at Calcutta 1988 16 ( - ) Chaminda Vaas Sri 670 28.07 780 v Ind at Mumbai 1997 17 ( - ) Mervyn Dillon WI 666 28.50 680 v Pak at Toronto 1999 18= (+1) Anil Kumble Ind 660 28.10 834 v SA at Mumbai 1996 (+1) Venkatesh Prasad Ind 660 32.63 714 v SA at Nairobi 1999 20= (+7) Chris Cairns NZ 652 32.32 657 v Ind at Sharjah 1998 (+2) Lance Klusener SA 652 26.40 686 v Ken at Amsterdam 1999 22 (-1) Daniel Vettori NZ 650 36.14 659 v Aus at Auckland 2000 23= (-5) Chris Harris NZ 649 34.12 709 v Aus at Sydney 1998 ( - ) Nikhil Chopra Ind 649 * 26.60 678 v NZ at Gauhati 1999 25 (-1) Jacques Kallis SA 647 30.59 665 v Zim at Johannesburg 2000 26 (-1) Shoaib Akhtar Pak 642 * 22.42 664 v Aus at Melbourne 2000 27 (-1) Heath Streak Zim 638 30.20 744 v Pak at Sharjah 1997 28 ( - ) Javagal Srinath Ind 633 28.17 756 v WI at Calcutta 1994 29 ( - ) Reon King WI 625 * 24.44 625 v NZ at Christchurch 2000 30 (+1) Sunil Joshi Ind 618 34.71 640 v Ken at Nairobi 1999 31 (+1) Andrew Caddick Eng 617 * 24.50 617 v Zim at Harare 2000 32 (-3) Adam Dale Aus 616 * 30.59 664 v Pak at Brisbane 2000 33 ( - ) G.P.Wickremasinghe Sri 607 39.30 656 v Ken at Southampton 1999 34 (+1) Upul Chandana Sri 600 29.88 633 v Zim at Harare 1999 35 (-2) Geoff Allott NZ 598 * 18.83 659 v Ind at Nottingham 1999 36 ( - ) Robert Croft Eng 574 38.21 650 v Aus at Adelaide 1999 37 ( - ) Shane Lee Aus 571 * 25.54 574 v NZ at Christchurch 2000 38= ( - ) Sanath Jayasuriya Sri 563 33.92 628 v NZ at Dhaka 1998 ( - ) Debasis Mohanty Ind 563 28.96 603 v SA at Nairobi 1999 40 (+1) Steve Elworthy SA 557 * 27.93 596 v Aus at Leeds 1999 41 (-1) Tom Moody Aus 551 38.73 597 v Zim at Harare 1999 42= (+1) Thomas Odoyo Ken 549 * 38.50 549 v SA at Nairobi 1999 (+1) Martin Suji Ken 549 * 48.77 549 v SA at Nairobi 1999 44 (-2) Paul Reiffel Aus 548 29.19 814 v WI at Port-of-Spain 1995 45 ( - ) Hansie Cronje SA 541 33.67 661 v Eng at Centurion 1996 46 ( - ) Paul Strang Zim 538 32.01 709 v Sri at Sharjah 1998 47 ( - ) Ajit Agarkar Ind 514 27.44 646 v Sri at Pune 1999 48 (+1) Andy Whittall Zim 509 50.02 658 v Ken at Dhaka 1999 49 (+1) John Rennie Zim 508 44.58 525 v Eng at Kimberley 2000 50 (-2) Dion Nash NZ 505 44.35 608 v Aus at Sharjah 1998 51 (+1) Khaled Mahmud Ban 497 * 34.15 497 v WI at Dhaka 1999 52= (+1) Guy Whittall Zim 496 34.39 525 v Sri at Harare 1999 (+1) Maurice Odumbe Ken 496 * 38.42 501 v Zim at Nairobi 1999 54 (+1) Brett Lee Aus 482 * 23.33 488 v NZ at Christchurch 2000 55= (+1) Grant Flower Zim 481 38.79 481 v Eng at Harare 2000 (+1) Arshad Khan Pak 481 * 42.26 526 v WI at Sharjah 1999 57 (+1) Craig White Eng 480 * 25.44 494 v Zim at Bulawayo 2000 58 (-7) Nathan Astle NZ 477 35.97 624 v SA at Adelaide 1997 59 ( - ) Waqar Younis Pak 474 23.56 802 v WI at Johannesburg 1993 60= ( - ) Eddo Brandes Zim 471 32.37 668 v SA at Johannesburg 1997 ( - ) Robin Singh Ind 471 39.65 534 v Ken at Gwalior 1998 62 ( - ) Henry Olonga Zim 466 * 28.02 486 v SA at Durban 2000 63 ( - ) Phil Simmons WI 464 34.65 588 v Pak at Sharjah 1995 64 ( - ) Nuwan Zoysa Sri 463 * 32.36 463 v Pak at Lahore 2000 65 ( - ) Asif Karim Ken 454 * 43.54 506 v Ban at Dhaka 1999 66 (+1) Shahid Afridi Pak 448 48.32 551 v Zim at Sharjah 1997 67 (RE) Simon Doull NZ 446 * 40.52 516 v Ind at Christchurch 1999 68 (-2) Jason Gillespie Aus 445 * 31.73 490 v Sri at Colombo (RPS) 1999 69= (-1) Mushtaq Ahmed Pak 440 33.14 743 v Eng at Melbourne 1992 (-1) Sourav Ganguly Ind 440 35.48 460 v Aus at The Oval 1999

Qualifying match: England vs Sri Lanka, at Lord's, on 14/05/1999