Yousuf returns to topple Younus from number-one spot

Umar Gul and Ajantha Mendis slide in bowlers' rankings

Mohammad Yousuf has returned to international cricket with a big bang by achieving the number-one position in the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen for the first time in his career.

Yousuf has toppled his captain Younus Khan to give Pakistan a 1-2 in the latest batting table for the first time since the player rankings were introduced in June 1987.

Yousuf, who won the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy as the 2007 Cricketer of the Year at the LG ICC Awards in Johannesburg, was second when he was removed from the rankings table early in 2009 as Pakistan had not played a Test match since before the qualification date for the rankings.

Yousuf, who is the only Pakistan batsman to have reached the 900-point mark, scored 112 and 12 as Pakistan made a mess of things on the fourth morning when it lost eight wickets for 46 runs to lose the Test by 50 runs while chasing a modest 168-run target.

Younus, who entered the Test 20 points short of becoming the second Pakistan batsmen and 25th overall to reach the 900-point mark, paid the price for his failures in both the innings of the Galle Test by not only dropping to second position in the rankings but by also conceding 30 valuable points.

Younus scored 25 and 3 in the first Test and will now have to come back with strong performances if he has to regain his number-one spot and stay in hunt for the 900-point mark, which in ranking terms marks out a player as truly great.

Younus is not the only one to face the brunt of a poor Test with the bat. His opposite-number Kumar Sangakkara, who scored 9 and 14, has dropped two places to fifth position.

Sangakkara's fall has benefitted India opener Gautam Gambhir and Shivnarine Chanderpaul of the West Indies. Both the left-handers have moved up one place each to occupy third and fourth places respectively.

Also losing ground in what has been a difficult Test for batsmen, Thilan Samaraweera has dropped out of the top 20 after slipping two places to 22nd, Tillekeratne Dilshan had fallen two places to 27th, Kamran Akmal has dropped one position to 30th and Salman Butt has slipped to 52nd position after losing two places.

In the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for Test bowlers, Pakistan fast bowler Umar Gul and Sri Lanka's magician spinner Ajantha Mendis have failed to retain their positions.

Umar has dropped four places to 18th position while Mendis has slipped three places to 28th spot.

Sri Lanka's player of the match and left-arm spinner Rangana Herath, who took 4-15 in the second innings, has jumped eight places to 48th position.

There is some good news for Pakistan bowlers as well. Left-arm fast bowler Mohammad Aamer, who had match figures of 6-117, has entered the table in 60th position while Younus, who had figures of 2-23 and 2-27, has rocketed 29 places to 83rd spot.

Sri Lanka's iconic spinner Muttiah Muralidharan missed the first Test and lost one per cent of his points. This means his lead over second-placed Dale Steyn of South Africa has been narrowed from 11 points to just two points.

Jacques Kallis continues to lead the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for Test all-rounders with Mitchell Johnson of Australia in second and New Zealand's Daniel Vettori third.

Reliance Mobile ICC Test Player Rankings (as of 8 July 2009, after Galle Test and prior to the start of the Ashes series)

* Indicates a provisional rating
! Indicates career-best rating