Sangakkara returns to the top of the world

Sangakkara, who won the ICC Cricketer of the Year and ICC Test Cricketer of the Year awards in Colombo in 2012, scored 221 and 21 in the Test, which earned him 31 ratings points that, in turn, helped him to dethrone AB de Villiers from the top pedestal. The South African had snatched the number-one spot from his team-mate Hashim Amla in October 2013 and spent a total stretch of 287 days and 33 Tests at the top.

Sangakkara had first surged to the top of the batting charts in December 2007 when he replaced Ricky Ponting, while he last claimed the top spot in November 2012 in Galle before Australia’s Michael Clarke dislodged him following his 230 against South Africa in the Adelaide Test.

Sangakkara has now spent a total of 81 Tests and 671 days as the top-ranked Test batsman. ICC Hall of Famer Garry Sobers holds the record for the most Tests spent as number-one with 189 while Viv Richards is second with 179.

Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews has continued to make gains on the rankings table. He has moved up one position to enter the top five for the first time in his career, following his contributions of 91 and 25 not out.

Mahela Jayawardena, playing his last Test series, has retained 14th position following his contributions of 59 and 26, but will seek to make his farewell Test a memorable one, which can potentially help him end higher on the rankings table.

In the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Test Bowlers, man of the match Rangana Herath has been rewarded for his match figures of nine for 164, which included an impressive six for 48 in the second innings, with a jump of two places. He how sits just outside the top five in sixth position.

Dilruwan Perera, the 22-year-old off-spinner, has vaulted five places to 24th following his figures of five for 137 and two for 68.

England v India

Meanwhile, England’s win against India at Old Trafford by an innings and 54 runs on Saturday has seen its bowlers charge up the rankings table. England leads the five-Test series by 2-1 with the final Test to start at The Oval from Friday.

James Anderson has climbed two places to grab fifth spot following his three for 46 and two for 18, while man of the match Stuart Broad has propelled four places to ninth spot following his figures of six for 25 in India’s first innings.

Broad’s movement now means England has two bowlers inside the top 10.

Moeen Ali’s four for 39 in India’s second innings has allowed him to jump four places to a career-high 33rd position.

Amongst the batsmen, Joe Root and Ian Bell remain the two England batsmen inside the top 20. Root has moved up two places to claim a career-best 14th spot, a position he shares with Jayawardena, while Bell has also earned two places which has put him in 17th spot. Captain Alastair Cook is the next highest-ranked England batsman in 24th position.

Jos Buttler is the biggest mover in the latest rankings. The England wicketkeeper-batsman scored 70 and featured in a 134-run seventh wicket stand with Root (77). For this, he has earned eight places, which has put him just outside the top 50 in 55th position.

India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s 71 and 27 means that he is now in 32nd position following a rise of two places.

In the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Test all-rounders, India’s Ravichandran Ashwin has displaced South Africa’s Vernon Philander as the number-one ranked all-rounder, while Broad has moved ahead of Australia’s Mitchell Johnson in fourth position.

Reliance ICC Test Player Rankings (as on 11 August, after the conclusion of Galle and Old Trafford Tests)

Batsmen

Rank     (+/-)       Player                  Team     Points    Ave        HS Ranking

   1         (+1)       K Sangakkara      SL          920       58.94     938 v Eng at Kandy 2007

   2         (-1)        AB de Villiers     SA         899       51.33     935 v Aus at Port Elizabeth 2014

   3         ( - )        Hashim Amla      SA         878       51.70     907 v Pak at Abu Dhabi 2013

   4         ( - )        David Warner      Aus        871!      46.54    871 v SA at Cape Town 2014

   5         (+1)       A Mathews          SL          862!      52.14    862 v Pak at Galle 2014

   6         (-1)        S. Chanderpaul    WI         854       51.88     901 v NZ at Napier 2008

   7         (+1)       Michael Clarke    Aus        818       51.50     900 v SL at Melbourne 2012

   8         (-1)        Misbah-ul-Haq    Pak        805       48.19     824 v SL at Sharjah 2014

   9         ( - )        Ross Taylor         NZ         795       46.43     871 v WI at Hamilton 2013

  10        (+1)       Younus Khan       Pak        793       51.97     880 v SL at Lahore 2009

  11        (+1)       Steven Smith       Aus        737*!    40.02     737 v SA at Cape Town 2014

  12        (-2)        C Pujara               Ind         735       51.58     851 v SA at Durban 2013

  13        ( - )        K Williamson      NZ         728!      40.28    728 v WI at Bridgetown 2014

  14=      ( - )        M Jayawardena   SL          708       50.02     883 v Ind at Ahmedabad 2009

              (+2)       Joe Root               Eng        708*!    46.55     708 v Ind at Old Trafford 2014

  16        ( - )        Chris Rogers        Aus        675*     38.14     694 v Eng at Sydney 2014

  17        (+2)       Ian Bell                Eng        666       45.24     822 v Ind at The Oval 2011

  18        ( - )        Faf du Plessis      SA         657*     50.39     674 v SL at Galle 2014

  19        (+1)       B McCullum        NZ         651       37.10     724 v Ind at Wellington 2014

  20        (-5)        Virat Kohli          Ind         642       40.64     784 v NZ at Wellington 2014

Selected Rankings

Rank     (+/-)       Player                  Team     Points    Ave        HS Ranking

  23        (+2)       Azhar Ali             Pak        627       39.01     753 v SL at Pallekele 2012

  24        (-2)        Alastair Cook      Eng        625       45.84     874 v Ind at Kolkata 2012

  25        (+1)       Asad Shafiq         Pak        614       36.85     680 v SA at Cape Town 2013

  29        (+2)       Gary Ballance      Eng        598*     60.45     599 v Ind at The Rose Bowl 2014

  30        (-6)        Murali Vijay        Ind         595       37.46     652 v Eng at Lord's 2014

  32        (+2)       MS Dhoni            Ind         593       38.42     662 v SA at Kolkata 2010

  34        (-8)        Ajinkya Rahane   Ind         576*     44.93     612 v Eng at The Rose Bowl 2014

  51        (RE)       G Gambhir           Ind         487       43.47     886 v SL at Kanpur 2009

  55        (+8)       Jos Buttler           Eng        436*!    77.50     436 v Ind at Old Trafford 2014

  56        (-2)        S Dhawan            Ind         434*     38.58     475 v NZ at Wellington 2014

  96        (-2)        Moeen Ali           Eng        317*     34.00     341 v Ind at Lord's 2014

Bowlers

Rank     (+/-)       Player                  Team     Points    Ave        HS Ranking

   1         ( - )        Dale Steyn           SA         903       22.82     908 v Pak at Johannesburg 2013

   2         ( - )        Ryan Harris         Aus        870!      22.56    870 v SA at Cape Town 2014

   3         ( - )        M Johnson           Aus        844!      27.42    844 v SA at Cape Town 2014

   4         ( - )        V Philander         SA         813       21.09     912 v Ind at Johannesburg 2013

   5         (+2)       J Anderson           Eng        800       29.86     813 v Ind at Edgbaston 2011

   6         (+2)       Rangana Herath   SL          797       29.97     838 v NZ at Colombo (PSS) 2012

   7         (-1)        Tim Southee        NZ         783       29.83     799 v WI at Kingston 2014

   8         (-3)        Saeed Ajmal        Pak        772       27.79     855 v Zim at Harare 2013

   9         (+4)       Stuart Broad        Eng        765       30.05     783 v WI at Lord's 2012

  10        (-1)        Trent Boult          NZ         737*     27.45     767 v Ind at Wellington 2014

  11=      (-1)        Kemar Roach       WI         733!      27.04    733 v NZ at Bridgetown 2014

              (-1)        Peter Siddle         Aus        733       29.37     816 v Eng at Old Trafford 2013

  13        (-1)        R Ashwin             Ind         705       28.78     808 v WI at Mumbai 2013

  14        (+2)       Morne Morkel     SA         700       30.08     776 v Aus at Cape Town 2011

  15        (-1)        Pragyan Ojha       Ind         698       30.26     773 v Eng at Kolkata 2012

  16        (-2)        Abdur Rehman    Pak        674*     28.75     739 v Eng at Dubai 2012

  17        ( - )        Junaid Khan         Pak        644*!    29.78     644 v SL at Galle 2014

  18        ( - )        Shakib Al Hasan  Ban        613       33.36     680 v WI at Mirpur 2011

  19        ( - )        Nathan Lyon        Aus        607       32.99     648 v Eng at Melbourne 2013

  20        ( - )        Ishant Sharma      Ind         578       37.04     671 v WI at Dominica 2011

Selected Rankings

Rank     (+/-)       Player                  Team     Points    Ave        HS Ranking

  24        (+5)       D Perera               SL          531*!    28.64    531 v Pak at Galle 2014

  26        (-1)        Ravindra Jadeja   Ind         510*     30.37     570 v SA at Durban 2013

  28        (-3)        S Eranga              SL          485*     34.22     541 v Eng at Headingley 2014

  32        ( - )        B Kumar              Ind         443*!    28.18     443 v Eng at Old Trafford 2014

  33        (+5)       Moeen Ali           Eng        441*!    28.04     441 v Ind at Old Trafford 2014

  56        (+2)       D Prasad              SL          275*!    48.83     275 v Pak at Galle 2014

  87        (RE)       Varun Aaron        Ind         126*!    37.66    126 v Eng at Old Trafford 2014

All-rounders

Rank     (+/-)       Player                  Team     Points    HS Ranking

   1         (+2)       R. Ashwin            Ind         372*/    419 v WI at Mumbai 2013

   2         (-1)        Vernon Philander SA         365*/    376 v Aus at Cape Town 2014

   3         (-1)        Shakib Al Hasan  Ban        364       404 v Pak at Mirpur 2011

   4         (+1)       Stuart Broad        Eng        288       382 v Pak at Abu Dhabi 2012

   5         (-1)        Mitchell Johnson Aus        280       384 v Eng at Cardiff 2009