South Africa eye number-one ODI ranking, India gain too

South Africa shares second position with India on 113 ratings point, but is ranked behind the reigning world champion by a fraction of the point. The two sides are just one ratings point behind Australia, and a 3-0 series will put South Africa ahead of the four-time world champion by one ratings point.

If South Africa manages to win all the three matches against New Zealand, then it will reclaim the number-one position for the first time in five years after handing over the baton to Australia following its first-round elimination from ICC Champions Trophy 2009.

On the other side of the coin, if New Zealand wins the series, then it will leapfrog Pakistan into sixth position. Currently, both Pakistan and New Zealand are on equal points on 98 ratings points but the Black Caps are in seventh position when the ratings are calculated beyond the decimal point.

Meanwhile, AB de Villiers of South Africa goes into the forthcoming series as the number-one ranked batsman in the Reliance ICC ODI Player Rankings and he will be looking to build on his fine recent run of form as the Proteas and Black Caps continue their ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 preparations.

Virat Kohli’s recent progression up the rankings following a good series against the West Indies has pushed Hashim Amla into second position and the South Africa opener will be aiming to reduce the five-point deficit.

Overall, there are four South Africa batsmen inside the top 20, including de Villiers and Amla, with Quinton de Kock in ninth position and Francois du Plessis in 11th spot – just 19 ratings points behind his team-mate.

New Zealand’s top-ranked batsman is Ross Taylor who sits in 10th place in the current rankings. There are two more three New Zealanders inside the top 20, namely Kane Williamson (12th) and Martin Guptill (20th) and be eyeing positive improvements in their home series. Skipper Brendon McCullum (25th) lies 20 ratings points adrift of his team-mate Guptill (20th).

On the Reliance ICC Players Rankings for ODI Bowlers, South African paceman and LG ICC People’s Choice award nominee, Dale Steyn, will go into the series as the top-ranked bowler in 3rd place, while ninth placed Ryan McLaren is a point adrift of Pakistan’s Mohammad Hafeez. Kyle Mills is Black Caps’ leading bowler in 13th place, with Tim Southee lying a solitary ratings point outside the top 20.

Incidentally, Mount Maunganui, which is hosting the first two ODIs on Tuesday and Friday, will debut as an international venue this week. The third ODI will be played in Hamilton which will host South Africa’s ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 Pool B clash with Zimbabwe on 15 February. Co-hosts New Zealand will also return to the north island city to face Bangladesh on 13 March.

India – West Indies series

Meanwhile, India’s players have made gains in the latest rankings following their 2-1 series win over West Indies.

Kohli has benefitted the most following his series contribution of 191 runs, which included a top score of 127 in the final match of the series in Dharamsala, as he has climbed one place into second position and 16 points off the top spot.

West Indies all-rounder Marlon Samuels has leaped 20 places to 41st after compiling the highest series aggregate of 254 runs with two centuries. India’s Ajinkya Rahane is the other major mover in the batting rankings, moving up nine places to 59th position.

Amongst the bowlers, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who is also one the nominees for the LG People’s Choice Award, has shown the most improvement by breaking into the top 10 for the first time by climbing seven places to seventh – just three point off his compatriot Ravindra Jadeja.

Mohammed Shami ended the series as the most successful bowler with 10 for 174, following on from a fine recent series in England where he claimed eight for 152. Shami has vaulted five places to 16th and in doing, he has broken into the top 20 for the first time in his career.

Jerome Taylor was the West Indies’ leading wicket-taker in the series and his tally of five for 181 in the three ODIs and has helped him return to the bowlers’ table in 143rd position. Andre Russell was another significant advancer and has climbed seven places to joint 63rd position after claiming two wickets in the series.

The ICC Player Rankings for All-rounders sees Pakistan’s Mohammad Hafeez lead the way with a significant 24-point gap over Sri Lanka’s Angelo Mathews.

Upcoming fixtures (New Zealand v South Africa)
21 Oct – 1st ODI, Mount Maunganui
24 Oct – 2nd ODI, Mount Maunganui
27 Oct – 3rd ODI, Hamilton

Reliance ICC ODI Team Rankings (as on 20 October, at the end of India-West Indies series)

Rank     Team               Rating   

1            Australia              114     

2            India                    113     

3            South Africa        113     

4            Sri Lanka             111     

5            England               107     

6            Pakistan               98       

7            New Zealand       98       

8            West Indies          96       

9            Bangladesh          69       

10          Zimbabwe            58       

11          Afghanistan         42       

12          Ireland                 33       

(Developed by David Kendix)

Reliance ICC ODI Player Rankings (as on 20 October, after India-West Indies and ahead of New Zealand-South Africa):

Batsmen

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

   1         ( - )        AB de Villiers     SA         869       50.22    885 v SL at Hambantota 2014

   2         (+1)       Virat Kohli          Ind         853       51.57    886 v Ban at Fatullah 2014

   3         (-1)        Hashim Amla      SA         848       54.36    901 v Eng at Trent Bridge 2012

   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         (+1)       T. Dilshan            SL          739       37.99    767 v Pak at Sharjah 2013

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

   9         ( - )        Quinton de Kock SA         720*     44.07    747 v Zim at Harare 2014

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

11         ( - )        F. du Plessis        SA         701!      35.83    701 v Aus at Harare 2014

  12        ( - )        Kane Williamson NZ         688!      39.51    688 v Ind at Wellington 2014

  13        ( - )        Misbah-ul-Haq    Pak        674       43.07    744 v SL at Fatullah 2014

  14        (+2)       Angelo Mathews SL          651       38.13    652 v Pak at Hambantota 2014

  15        (+3)       Suresh Raina       Ind         650       35.91    669 v Eng at Dharamsala 2013

  16        (-2)        Shane Watson      Aus        649       41.06    773 v SL at Hambantota 2011

  17        (-2)        Michael Clarke    Aus        648       45.06    750 v SL at Melbourne 2008

  18        (+2)       Ahmed Shehzad  Pak        645       34.40    670 v Ban at Mirpur 2014

  19        (-2)        M. Hafeez            Pak        636       30.98    665 v Ban at Mirpur 2014

  20        (-1)        Martin Guptill     NZ         635       39.16    684 v Zim at Napier 2012

Selected Rankings

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

  25        (-1)        B. McCullum       NZ         615       30.24    685 v Eng at Auckland 2013

  27=      ( - )        JP Duminy           SA         605       38.82    668 v Net at Mohali 2011

              (-2)        Rohit Sharma      Ind         605       35.86    672 v WI at Kochi 2013

  37=      ( - )        Corey Anderson  NZ         578*     53.00    604 v Ind at Hamilton 2014

              ( - )        Darren Bravo       WI         578       32.40    588 v Ind at Kanpur 2013

  41        (+20)     Marlon Samuels  WI         568       32.85    631 v SL at St. Vincent 2003

  42        (-2)        Lendl Simmons   WI         564       31.31    629 v Ind at Visakhapatnam 2011

  46        (-1)        David Miller        SA         547       30.86    568 v Aus at Harare 2014

  47        (-3)        Ravindra Jadeja   Ind         538       34.48    552 v WI at Kochi 2014

  49        (+1)       Jacques Kallis     SA         534       44.36    817 v WI at Johannesburg 2004

  52=      (-5)        Kieron Pollard     WI         528       25.20    602 v Zim at Grenada 2013

              (+3)       Jesse Ryder          NZ         528       33.21    574 v Zim at Bulawayo 2011

  54        (-4)        Chris Gayle         WI         526       37.33    804 v Zim at Harare 2003

  59        (+9)       Ajinkya Rahane   Ind         514*!    28.37    514 v WI at Dharamsala 2014

  60        (-2)        Johnson Charles  WI         511*     28.96    592 v Ind at Trinidad 2013

  62=      (-5)        Dwayne Bravo     WI         506       25.36    531 v Eng at Antigua 2014

              (-3)        Darren Sammy    WI         506       23.68    534 v Eng at Antigua 2014

  71        (+6)       Andre Russell      WI         484*     28.68    571 v NZ at St Kitts 2012

  72=      (+2)       Denesh Ramdin   WI         482       24.94    493 v Ind at Kochi 2014

79        (-3)        Kieran Powell      WI         465*     27.57    496 v Ire at Jamaica 2014

  83        (+1)       N. McCullum      NZ         449       20.63    480 v WI at Nelson 2014

  85=      (+1)       Grant Elliott        NZ         447       29.79    525 v Pak at Johannesburg 2009

              (-2)        Yuvraj Singh       Ind         447       36.37    787 v WI at Jamaica 2009

  87=      (+2)       Ambati Rayudu   Ind         437*!    39.54    437 v WI at Dharamsala 2014

100        (-2)        Colin Ingram       SA         410*     32.42    492 v WI at Cardiff 2013

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         712       25.63    4.82      746 v Ind at Durban 2013

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

   5         (+1)       Mitchell Johnson Aus        680       25.68    4.82      724 v Ban at Darwin 2008

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

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

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

   9         (-1)        Ryan McLaren     SA         646       25.35    5.11      681 v Zim at Bulawayo 2014

  10=      ( - )        Steven Finn         Eng        640       28.41    4.74      755 v NZ at Auckland 2013

              (-2)        Clint McKay        Aus        640       24.37    4.78      709 v Eng at Cardiff 2013

  12        (-1)        L. Tsotsobe          SA         638       24.96    4.75      743 v NZ at Auckland 2012

  13        (-1)        Kyle Mills           NZ         633       26.74    4.72      722 v Aus at Melbourne 2009

  14        (-1)        Rangana Herath   SL          632       31.85    4.36      703 v SA at Pallekele 2013

  15        ( - )        James Tredwell   Eng        629*     25.85    4.77      642 v Ind at Trent Bridge 2014

  16        (+5)       M. Shami             Ind         624       26.08    5.74      636 v WI at Delhi 2014

  17        ( - )        Morne Morkel     SA         623       24.28    4.88      717 v SL at East London 2012

  18        (-2)        R. Ashwin            Ind         619       32.41    4.88      691 v SL at Hambantota 2012

  19        ( - )        S. Senanayake     SL          616*     34.82    4.62      629 v SA at Colombo (RPS) 2014

  20        (-2)        Kemar Roach       WI         608       26.85    4.90      650 v Pak at St Lucia 2013

Selected Rankings

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

  21        (+1)       Tim Southee        NZ         607       31.52    5.20      633 v Eng at Lord's 2013

  24=      (-4)        Ravi Rampaul      WI         595       29.22    5.08      628 v Ind at Ahmedabad 2011

  26        ( - )        Imran Tahir         SA         582*!    18.92    4.25      582 v Aus at Harare 2014

  29        ( - )        N. McCullum      NZ         571!      47.74    4.81      571 v Ind at Wellington 2014

  31        ( - )        M. McClenaghan NZ         563*     22.83    5.82      578 v Ind at Napier 2014

  32        (+5)       Amit Mishra        Ind         554*     23.95    4.58      570 v Zim at Bulawayo 2013

  41        ( - )        Wayne Parnell     SA         533       29.92    5.49      534 v Zim at Bulawayo 2014

  44        (+2)       Darren Sammy    WI         520         44.25   4.55      599 v Can at Jamaica 2010

  48        (-3)        Dwayne Bravo     WI         501       29.51    5.41      601 v SA at Antigua 2010

  51        (-2)        Jason Holder        WI         484*     28.65    5.21      489 v Ban at St Kitts 2014

  63=      (+1)       Robin Peterson    SA         435       37.20    4.89      575 v Eng at Trent Bridge 2012

              (+7)       Andre Russell      WI         435*     30.78    5.53      500 v NZ at St Kitts 2012

              (-1)        Nikita Miller       WI         435*     36.52    4.59      478 v Ire at Jamaica 2010

  66        (-1)        JP Duminy           SA         434         40.69   5.02      442 v Zim at Bulawayo 2014

  67=      ( - )        Aaron Phangiso   SA         431*!    34.21    4.44      431 v Aus at Harare 2014

  71        (-5)        Ishant Sharma      Ind         425         31.44   5.72      594 v Aus at Nagpur 2009

  73=      (RE)       Sulieman Benn    WI         419*     32.80    4.40      544 v Ire at Mohali 2011

              (+9)       Umesh Yadav      Ind         419 !     41.08    6.00      419 v WI at Dharamsala 2014

  75        (+2)       Marlon Samuels  WI         413       44.80    4.77      480 v Aus at Mumbai 2006

  76        (-3)        R Vinay Kumar   Ind         412*     37.44    5.94      504 v SL at Adelaide 2012

  78        (-4)        Tino Best             WI         406*     34.02    5.51      448 v Pak at St Lucia 2013

  84        (-5)        Suresh Raina       Ind         382*     48.20    5.05      393 v Eng at Headingley 2014

  87=      (+1)       Jacques Kallis     SA         374       31.79    4.84      641 v WI at Barbados 2001

  93        (-1)        Vernon Philander SA         353*     26.05    4.37      369 v SL at Pallekele 2014

  99        (-2)        Corey Anderson  NZ         341*     24.47    6.09      344 v Ind at Auckland 2014

All-rounders

Rank     (+/-)       Player                  Team     Points    HS Rating

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

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

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

   4         (-1)        Ravindra Jadeja   Ind         355       378 v Eng at Edgbaston 2013

   5         ( - )        T. Dilshan            SL          316       373 v NZ at Hambantota 2013

*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