South Africa reclaims number-one ODI ranking after five years

South Africa had entered the three-match ODI series trailing Australia by one ratings point. It moved to the top of the table following its 72 runs victory in the second ODI in Mount Maunganui on Friday, 24 October. And though the third and final ODI of the series in Hamilton on Monday was washed-out, the results in Mount Maunganui were enough to ensure the Proteas finish the series on top of the tree.

This is the first time in five years that South Africa has surged to the top of the ODI team table. It last enjoyed the number-one position in September 2009, before losing the status to Australia following its first round elimination from the ICC Champions Trophy 2009.

Meanwhile, in the Reliance ICC ODI Player Rankings, South Africa batsmen AB de Villiers and Hashim Amla occupy the top two positions in the batting table following their sides’ 2-0 series victory in New Zealand.

AB de Villiers has retained the top spot in the Reliance ICC ODI Player Rankings for ODI Batsmen but his team-mate Amla, with scores of 38 and 119, has closed the gap to 28 ratings points as preparations for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 gather pace.

However, India’s Virat Kohli, who has slipped to third following Amla’s movement, will have a chance to move up the order when he takes to the field against Sri Lanka in the series, which starts on 2 November. Only two ratings points separate the second and third ranked batsmen.

New Zealand’s top-ranked batsman is Ross Taylor who has remained in 10th place in the current rankings. Skipper Brendon McCullum (26th) has dropped one place on the leader-board, but the biggest mover is 33-year-old wicketkeeper/batsman, Luke Ronchi, who has risen 52 places to 62nd in the batting rankings after scores of 99 and 79, respectively.

On the Reliance ICC Players Rankings for ODI Bowlers, South African paceman Dale Steyn has retained his third place after figures of one wicket for 28 runs and two for 35 runs, respectively. The top two positions are retained by Pakistan's Saeed Ajmal and West Indies' Sunil Narine, both of whom are temporarily suspended by ICC following suspected bowling action.

Ryan McLaren has dropped three places to 12th position, though Morne Morkel has moved up two places to 15th after a series which saw him claim three wickets. Leg-spinner Imran Tahir’s consistent performances have seen him climb four places to a career-high 22nd place. Another significant riser is Vernon Philander who rises 15 places to 78th position.

New Zealand’s top ranked bowler, Kyle Mills, drops four places to 17th in the latest rankings.

Reliance ICC ODI Team Rankings (as on 28 October, after New Zealand-South Africa series)

1.      South Africa   115

2.      Australia          114

3.      India                113

4.      Sri Lanka         111

5.      England           107

6.      Pakistan           98

7.      New Zealand 96

8.      West Indies     96

9.      Bangladesh     69

10.  Zimbabwe       58

11.  Afghanistan    42

12.  Ireland             33

Reliance ICC ODI Player Rankings (as on 28 October, after New Zealand-South Africa series):

Batsmen

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

  1          ( - )        AB de Villiers     SA         883       51.02    885 v SL at Hambantota 2014

   2         (+1)       Hashim Amla      SA         855       54.43    901 v Eng at Trent Bridge 2012

   3         (-1)        Virat Kohli          Ind         853       51.57    886 v Ban at Fatullah 2014

   4         ( - )        George Bailey     Aus        802       46.61    867 v SA at Harare 2014

   5         ( - )        K. Sangakkara     SL          800       40.13    853 v Afg at Mirpur 2014

   6         ( - )        MS Dhoni            Ind         757       52.85    836 v Aus at Delhi 2009

   7=       ( - )        T. Dilshan            SL          739       37.99    767 v Pak at Sharjah 2013

              (+2)       Quinton de Kock SA         739*     45.00    747 v Zim at Harare 2014

   9         (-1)        Shikhar Dhawan  Ind         722       41.97    747 v WI at Kochi 2014

  10        ( - )        Ross Taylor         NZ         702       40.07    713 v Ind at Wellington 2014

Selected Rankings

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

  11        ( - )        F. du Plessis        SA         699       35.90    703 v NZ at Bay Oval 2014
12        ( - )        Kane Williamson NZ         678       39.51    688 v Ind at Wellington 2014

  24        (-4)        Martin Guptill     NZ         614       38.33    684 v Zim at Napier 2012

  25        (+2)       JP Duminy           SA         612       39.24    668 v Net at Mohali 2011

  26        (-1)        B. McCullum       NZ         606       30.08    685 v Eng at Auckland 2013

  48        (-2)        David Miller        SA         531       29.68    568 v Aus at Harare 2014

  53        (-16)      Corey Anderson  NZ         525*     42.50    604 v Ind at Hamilton 2014

  62        (+52)     Luke Ronchi        Aus/NZ  506*!    30.41    506 v SA at Hamilton 2014

Bowlers

Rank     (+/-)       Player                  Team     Points                  Ave        Econ      HS Rating

   1         ( - )        Saeed Ajmal        Pak        770                     22.18    4.13      810 v SA at Centurion 2013

   2         ( - )        Sunil Narine        WI         753                     26.49    4.10      791 v SL at Jamaica 2013

   3         ( - )        Dale Steyn           SA         715                     25.52    4.80      746 v Ind at Durban 2013

   4         ( - )        James Anderson  Eng        690                     29.10    4.94      719 v SA at The Oval 2013

   5         ( - )        M. Johnson          Aus        680                     25.68    4.82      724 v Ban at Darwin 2008

   6         ( - )        Ravindra Jadeja   Ind         660                     32.06    4.77      738 v Zim at Bulawayo 2013

   7         ( - )        B. Kumar             Ind         657!                    36.59    4.60      657 v WI at Dharamsala 2014

   8         ( - )        M. Hafeez            Pak        647                     35.01    4.06      769 v Ind at Kolkata 2013

   9=       (+1)       Steven Finn         Eng        640                     28.41    4.74      755 v NZ at Auckland 2013

              (+1)       Clint McKay        Aus        640                     24.37    4.78      709 v Eng at Cardiff 2013

Selected Rankings

Rank     (+/-)       Player                  Team     Points                  Ave        Econ      HS Rating

  12        (-3)        Ryan McLaren     SA         630                     25.46    5.16      681 v Zim at Bulawayo 2014

  14        (-2)        L. Tsotsobe          SA         628                     24.96    4.75      743 v NZ at Auckland 2012

  15        (+2)       Morne Morkel     SA         625                     24.35    4.88      717 v SL at East London 2012

  17        (-4)        Kyle Mills           NZ         620                     26.82    4.73      722 v Aus at Melbourne 2009

  22        (+4)       Imran Tahir         SA         607*                   18.78    4.22      610 v NZ at Bay Oval 2014

  31        ( - )        M. McClenaghan NZ         564*                   23.48    5.77      578 v Ind at Napier 2014

  32        (-3)        N. McCullum      NZ         561                     49.27    4.80      571 v Ind at Wellington 2014

  42        (-1)        Wayne Parnell     SA         528                     29.92    5.49      534 v Zim at Bulawayo 2014

  64        (+2)       JP Duminy           SA         435                     40.28    5.02      442 v Zim at Bulawayo 2014

  78        (+15)     Vernon Philander SA         407*!                  24.19    4.39      407 v NZ at Hamilton 2014

All-rounders

Rank     (+/-)       Player                                Team     Points    HS Rating

  1          ( - )        Mohammad Hafeez           Pak        411       438 v Ind at Kolkata 2013

   2         ( - )        Angelo Mathews               SL          387!      387 v Pak at Dambulla 2014

   3         ( - )        Shakib Al Hasan                Ban        361       453 v Zim at Chittagong 2009

*indicates provisional rating; a batsman qualifies for a full rating after a minimum of 40 started innings; a bowler qualifies for a full rating after he has conceded 1,500 runs.

!indicates career-highest rating