Dhoni number-one in ICC Player rankings

India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has regained the number-one batting position while his side has returned to second spot in the ICC ODI Championship after its two matches in the Asia Cup in Dambulla, Sri Lanka.

Dhoni, who had started the tournament in third place trailing number-one ranked Michael Hussey of Australia by eight ratings points, scored 38 not out against Bangladesh and 56 against Pakistan.

These match-winning efforts, combined with Hussey’s batting failure with the bat against Ireland in Dublin last week, has helped the India captain to jump two places to regain top spot while the Australian left-hander has been pushed down two places to third.

Dhoni

India’s successive victories in the Asia Cup have also ensured that it returns to number-two position in the ICC ODI Championship. With India to face Sri Lanka in its last group stage match on Tuesday before meeting again in the final on Thursday, Dhoni’s side can afford to lose one match without conceding its second place.

However, if India loses both those matches, it will drop to 118 ratings points which will give South Africa possession of number-two spot. Sri Lanka, in that scenario, would rise to 111 ratings points.

Apart from Dhoni, Sri Lanka’s Tillakaratne Dilshan has leapfrogged India’s iconic batsman Sachin Tendulkar into fourth spot while India opener Gautam Gambhir has rocketed seven places to 17^th spot after scores of 82 and 83.

The Netherlands’ Ryan ten Doeschate has also achieved a career-best ranking in the latest playing rankings which were released on Sunday. The Essex all-rounder, who won the ICC Associate Player of the Year Award at the LG ICC Awards in Dubai in 2008, scored 90 against Scotland in the one-off ODI in Rotterdam for which he has been rewarded with a jump of seven places and a share of 25^thposition with Australia’s Cameron White.

Shahid Afridi seems to have adjusted quickly to the full-time role of Pakistan captain when he scored 109 and 32 against Bangladesh and India respectively which has helped him climb eight places to 42^nd spot.

In the ICC Player Rankings for ODI bowlers, Pakistan off-spinner Saeed Ajmal has lifted four places to 14^th spot while India’s pace and spin combination of Praveen Kumar and Ravindra Jadeja have also made upward movements. Kumar has jumped seven places to occupy 20^th position while Jadeja has vaulted 12 places to sit in 21^st position.

In the ICC Player Rankings for ODI all-rounders, Shahid Afridi has claimed a career-best third position. The list is still headed by Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan while Australia’s Shane Watson is in second place.

Meanwhile, England and Australia go head to head in a five-ODI series in Southampton from Tuesday. Number-one ranked Australia leads fifth-placed England by 23 ratings points. While Australia will retain its top position irrespective of the series result, England has a chance to move up the ladder.

Besides Hussey in the top 20 of the ICC Player Rankings for ODI batsmen, Australia also has captain Ricky Ponting in eighth place while England’s Paul Collingwood is in 13^th position.

Batsmen outside the top 20 and eyeing upward movements are Shane Watson (21^st), Michael Clarke (23^rd), Cameron White (25^th), Eoin Morgan (29^th), Kevin Pietersen (30^th) and Andrew Strauss (46^th).

In the ICC Player Rankings for ODI bowlers, Mitchell Johnson is the highest-ranked bowler from either side in eighth position. England’s James Anderson and Stuart Broad are in the 12^th and 13^th positions respectively while Australia’s Nathan Haurtiz and Doug Bollinger are in 15^th and 16^th spots respectively.

The ICC Player Rankings will now be updated on Friday after the end of the Asia Cup.

Australia in England

22 Jun – First ODI (d/n), Southampton

24 Jun – Second ODI (d/n), Cardiff

27 Jun – Third ODI, Manchester

30 Jun – Fourth ODI (d/n), Oval

3 Jul – Fifth ODI, Lord’s

ICC ODI Championship (as of 21 June, before the start of Pakistan-Bangladesh ODI in Asia Cup, and England and Australia ODI series)

Rank Team Rating

1 Australia 133

2 India 119

3 South Africa 118

4 New Zealand 114

5 England 110

6 Sri Lanka 109

7 Pakistan 101

8 West Indies 71

9 Bangladesh 52

10 Zimbabwe 34

11 Ireland 23

12 Kenya 2

(Developed by David Kendix)

ICC ODI Championship (as of 21 June, before the start of Pakistan-Bangladesh ODI in the Asia Cup, and England and Australia ODI series)

Batsmen

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

1 (+2) MS Dhoni Ind 810 51.53 837 v Aus at Delhi 2009

2 ( – ) AB de Villiers SA 805 43.56 814 v WI at Dominica 2010

3 (-2) Mike Hussey Aus 802 53.12 865 v NZ at Perth 2007

4 ( – ) Hashim Amla SA 751*! 54.84 751 v WI at Port-of-Spain 2010

5 (+1) T.Dilshan SL 745! 35.63 745 v Ban at Dambulla 2010

6 (-1) S.Tendulkar Ind 740 45.12 887 v Zim at Sharjah 1998

7 ( – ) Chris Gayle WI 738 39.42 808 v Zim at Harare 2003

8 ( – ) Ricky Ponting Aus 729 43.09 831 v NZ at Hobart 2007

9 ( – ) Jacques Kallis SA 721 45.73 818 v WI at Johannesburg 2004

10 ( – ) S.Chanderpaul WI 711 41.77 778 v Eng at Guyana 2009

11 ( – ) Graeme Smith SA 691 40.08 785 v Ind at Kolkata 2005

12 ( – ) K.Sangakkara SL 687 36.64 755 v Pak at Colombo (RPS) 2006

13 (+1) P.Collingwood Eng 684 36.77 691 v Ban at Mirpur 2010

14 (-1) Virat Kohli Ind 668* 47.45 681 v SL at Harare 2010

15 (-1) Virender Sehwag Ind 662 34.02 787 v NZ at Auckland 2003

16 ( – ) Yuvraj Singh Ind 661 37.09 786 v WI at Kingston 2009

17 (+7) G.Gambhir Ind 660 38.52 702 v SL at Colombo (RPS) 2009

18 (-1) Ross Taylor NZ 650 35.82 698 v Aus at Adelaide 2009

19 (-1) B.McCullum NZ 648 28.99 666 v Pak at Abu Dhabi 2009

20 ( – ) Suresh Raina Ind 647 37.61 661 v SL at Bulawayo 2010

Bowlers

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

1 ( – ) Daniel Vettori NZ 761 31.21 4.14 790 v Eng at Christchurch 2008

2 ( – ) Shakib Al Hasan Ban 708 30.79 4.10 717 v Zim at Chittagong 2009

3 ( – ) N.Kulasekara SL 689 28.21 4.52 727 v NZ at Colombo (RPS) 2009

4 ( – ) Ray Price Zim 666 35.91 3.79 722 v WI at Guyana 2010

5 ( – ) Kyle Mills NZ 658 26.45 4.68 723 v Aus at Melbourne 2009

6 ( – ) Dale Steyn SA 640 30.65 5.30 662 v Zim at Benoni 2009

7 ( – ) Shahid Afridi Pak 639 34.66 4.61 667 v Ind at Mirpur 2008

8 ( – ) Mitchell Johnson Aus 634 25.71 4.94 729 v Ban at Darwin 2008

9 (+3) Jacob Oram NZ 629 30.66 4.35 770 v Aus at The Oval 2004

10 (-1) Ajantha Mendis SL 628* 19.07 4.37 642 v SA at Centurion 2009

11= ( – ) Harbhajan Singh Ind 627 32.72 4.31 738 v WI at Bridgetown 2002

(+2) James Anderson Eng 627 29.84 4.94 700 v Ban at Dhaka 2003

13 (-3) Stuart Broad Eng 621 26.57 5.16 703 v SA at Trent Bridge 2008

14 (+4) Saeed Ajmal Pak 603* 30.21 4.17 610 v NZ at Abu Dhabi 2009

15 ( – ) Nathan Hauritz Aus 600 31.37 4.60 622 v Ind at Guwahati 2009

16= (+1) Johan Botha SA 595 41.21 4.63 665 v Aus at Centurion 2009

(-2) Doug Bollinger Aus 595* 22.78 4.43 634 v NZ at Hamilton 2010

18 (-2) Abdur Razzak Ban 591 27.15 4.46 644 v Eng at Bridgetown 2007

19 (+2) Dwayne Bravo WI 582 28.84 5.24 602 v SA at Antigua 2010

20 (+7) Praveen Kumar Ind 581 33.97 5.15 617 v NZ at Wellington 2009

All-rounders

Rank (+/-) Player Team Points HS Rating

1 ( – ) Shakib Al Hasan Ban 416 454 v Zim at Chittagong 2009

2 ( – ) Shane Watson Aus 369 384 v Pak at Sydney 2010

3 (+2) Shahid Afridi Pak 360! 360 v Ind at Dambulla 2010

4 (-1) Jacques Kallis SA 350 506 v WI at Bridgetown 2001

5 (-1) Daniel Vettori NZ 349 354 v Aus at Auckland 2010

*Indicates a provisional rating