Pakistan challenges Sri Lanka for fourth place in Reliance Mobile ICC Test Championship table
Younus Khan aims to become 25th batsman in history to reach 900-point mark
Following victory over Sri Lanka in the final of the ICC World Twenty20 2009 at Lord's last month, Pakistan aims to carry that momentum into the three-Test series against Sri Lanka starting at Galle on Saturday as it targets fourth place in the Reliance Mobile ICC Test Championship table.
Pakistan currently sits in sixth place on 100 ratings points, one ratings point behind fifth-placed England and eight ratings points behind fourth-placed Sri Lanka.
However, a 1-0 or 2-1 series win for Younus Khan's side will be enough to put it on 105 ratings points alongside Sri Lanka but ahead of Kumar Sangakkara's side when the ratings are calculated beyond the decimal point.
The following are the scenarios:
· If Pakistan wins the series 1-0 or 2-1, it will join Sri Lanka on 105 ratings points but it will be placed ahead of Sri Lanka in fourth position by a fraction of a point
· If Pakistan wins the series 2-0, it will go into fourth position on 107 rating points while Sri Lanka will slip to 103 ratings points
· If Pakistan wins the series 3-0, it will jump to 109 ratings points while Sri Lanka will drop to 102 ratings points
· If the series ends in a 1-1 draw, Pakistan will join England on 101 ratings points but will be placed ahead of England in fifth place by a fraction of point while Sri Lanka will go to 107 ratings points
· If Sri Lanka wins the series 1-0, it will go to 110 ratings points while Pakistan will drop to 97 ratings points
· If Sri Lanka wins the series 2-0, it will go to 111 ratings points while Pakistan will drop to 95 ratings points
· If Sri Lanka wins the series 3-0, it will go to 113 ratings points, just four ratings points behind third-placed India, while Pakistan will slip to 93 ratings points and just eight ratings points ahead of seventh-placed the West Indies
In the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen, Younus Khan is in number-one position and will be aiming to become the 25th batsman in history to reach the 900-point mark. The 31-year-old right-handed batsman is just 20 points short of becoming the second Pakistan batsman after Mohammd Yousuf to achieve the rare distinction.
Younus had first gone to the top of the batting chart after scoring 313 against Sri Lanka in Karachi in February before regaining the number-one position from Shivanarine Chanderpaul of the West Indies in May.
Conversely, if Younus fails to perform to his high standards and at the same time second-placed Kumar Sangakkara excels with the bat, there is a possibility that there might be a change at the top of the order as 26 points separates the two elegant and stylish batsmen.
The other batsmen from either side in the top 20 and aiming for an upward movement are Mahela Jayawardena and Thilan Samaraweera who currently occupy sixth position and 19th positions respectively while just outside the top 20 are Tillakaratne Dilshan (24th), Kamran Akmal (28th) and Misbah-ul-Haq (30th).
Mohammad Yousuf, who won the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy as the 2007 Cricketer of the Year at the LG ICC Awards in Johannesburg, is set to return to the batting rankings in the top five. If he performs well with the bat, he will go to third position or even higher.
Yousuf was second when he was removed from the rankings table along with Abdul Razzaq early in 2009 as Pakistan had not played a Test match since before the qualification date for the rankings. A player loses one per cent of his points for each Test that he misses for his country and his ratings are still calculated even when he does not appear in the rankings.
In the Reliance Mobile ICC Test Player Rankings for bowlers, Sri Lanka's iconic spinner Muttiah Muralidaran is just ahead of South Africa's Dale Steyn and will be hoping to extend the advantage over the Proteas' fast bowler.
With just 11 points separating the two bowlers, Steyn can regain the number-one position he last held in April 2008 if Muralidaran fails to put up a strong performance in the first Test.
Umar Gul is the highest-ranked Pakistan bowler in 14th spot with leg-spinner Danish Kaneria in 19th position.
Sri Lanka's spin sensation Ajantha Mendis is in 25th position and has a good chance of breaking into the top 20 for the first time in his career even though he is still in the rankings qualification period for bowlers. A bowler qualifies for a full rating when he reaches 100 Test wickets and the 24-year-old from Moratuwa has so far taken 34 wickets in six Tests.
South Africa's Jacques Kallis leads the Reliance Mobile ICC Test Player Rankings for all-rounders, followed by Johnson in second and New Zealand's Daniel Vettori in third.
The schedule of the series is:
4-8 July: First Test at Galle
12-16 July: Second Test at Colombo (PSS)
20-24 July: Third Test at Colombo (SSC)
Reliance Mobile ICC Test Championship (as on 2 July 2009)
Rank Team Rating
1 Australia 128
2 South Africa 119
3 India 117
4 Sri Lanka 108
5 England 101
6 Pakistan 100
7 West Indies 85
8 New Zealand 82
9 Bangladesh 0
(Developed by David Kendix)
Reliance Mobile ICC Test Player Rankings (as on 2 July 2009)
Batsmen
Rank Player Team Points Ave HS Rating
1 Younus Khan Pak 880! 51.80 880 v SL at Lahore 2009
2 Kumar Sangakkara SL 854 54.99 938 v Eng at Kandy 2007
3 Gautam Gambhir Ind 847! 54.07 847 v NZ at Wellington 2009
4 S.Chanderpaul WI 838 49.28 901 v NZ at Napier 2008
5 Mahela Jayawardena SL 821 53.23 854 v Ban at Dhaka 2008
6 Ricky Ponting Aus 785 56.20 942 v Eng at Adelaide 2006
7 Graeme Smith SA 782 50.33 810 v Aus at Melbourne 2008
8 Michael Clarke Aus 776 47.82 825 v SA at Sydney 2009
9 Kevin Pietersen Eng 768 50.49 909 v WI at Headingley 2007
10 Jacques Kallis SA 755 54.66 935 v NZ at Centurion 2007
11 Ashwell Prince SA 742 47.29 756 v Pak at Centurion 2007
12 AB de Villiers SA 740! 43.92 740 v Aus at Cape Town 2009
13 Sachin Tendulkar Ind 720 54.58 898 v Zim at Nagpur 2002
14 Ramnaresh Sarwan WI 718 42.32 767 v Eng at Bridgetown 2009
15 VVS Laxman Ind 703 45.24 753 v Aus at Sydney 2004
16 Mike Hussey Aus 696 55.29 921 v WI at Kingston 2008
17 Simon Katich Aus 692! 43.42 692 v SA at Cape Town 2009
18 Andrew Strauss Eng 689 43.96 769 v SA at Johannesburg 2005
19 Thilan Samaraweera SL 687! 51.07 687 v Pak at Lahore 2009
20 Virender Sehwag Ind 685 50.06 854 v SA at Kolkata 2004
Bowlers
Rank Player Team Points Ave HS Rating
1 Muttiah Muralidaran SL 855 22.18 920 v Ban at Kandy 2007
2 Dale Steyn SA 844 23.70 897 v Ind at Ahmedabad 2008
3 Mitchell Johnson Aus 807\* 28.01 811 v SA at Durban 2009
4 Stuart Clark Aus 760\* 22.96 863 v WI at Bridgetown 2008
5 Makhaya Ntini SA 741 28.37 863 v Ind at Durban 2006
6 Harbhajan Singh Ind 735 30.42 765 v NZ at Wellington 2002
7 James Anderson Eng 677! 33.90 677 v WI at Chester-le-St 2009
8 Paul Harris SA 669\*! 32.60 669 v Aus at Cape Town 2009
9 Chaminda Vaas SL 664 29.40 800 v Ind at Chennai 2005
10 Brett Lee Aus 653 30.81 811 v WI at Antigua 2008
11 Zaheer Khan Ind 650 33.84 689 v Pak at Delhi 2007
12 Ryan Sidebottom Eng 641* 27.70 769 v SA at Lord's 2008
13 Jerome Taylor WI 626* 35.55 717 v Eng at Kingston 2009
14 Umar Gul Pak 621* 31.34 627 v WI at Karachi 2006
15 Daniel Vettori NZ 620 33.55 681 v Aus at Auckland 2000
16 Jacques Kallis SA 603 31.08 742 v Eng at Headingley 2003
17 Chris Martin NZ 600 33.48 643 v Eng at Lord's 2004
18 Andrew Flintoff Eng 597 32.07 810 v Pak at Multan 2005
19 Danish Kaneria Pak 594 34.87 723 v Eng at Multan 2005
20 Ishant Sharma Ind 580* 33.15 608 v NZ at Napier 2009
All-rounders
Rank Player Team Points HS Rating
1 Jacques Kallis SA 455 616 v Pak at Durban 2002
2 Mitchell Johnson Aus 375\*/\*! 375 v SA at Cape Town 2009
3 Daniel Vettori NZ 350 369 v Ban at Dhaka 2008
4 Chaminda Vaas SL 273 300 v WI at Guyana 2008
5 Andrew Flintoff Eng 269 501 v Pak at Multan 2005
*indicates provisional rating; a batsman qualifies for a full rating after playing 40 Test innings; a bowler qualifies for a full rating when he reaches 100 Test wickets.
!Indicates highest rating of career to date
For more information on the ICC Test Championship rankings go to: www.icc-cricket.com