India wicketkeeper-batsman Mahendra Singh Dhoni has moved up to second position in the latest LG ICC Player Rankings for ODI batsmen, his highest ranking since May of 2006.
The 25-year-old has just completed a successful four-match series against Sri Lanka, having scored 115 runs in two innings, including a match-winning 67 not out in the third ODI at Margao. He now averages 46.61 in ODIs with a remarkable career strike-rate of 98.49.
Dhoni overtakes Australia captain Ricky Ponting, who did not play in Australia's 3-0 series defeat to New Zealand which concluded on Tuesday. Ponting is now in third position, just one ratings point ahead of England's Kevin Pietersen.
Dhoni's India team-mate Yuvraj Singh is up five places to 15th position, now just two places behind Rahul Dravid.
Stand-in captain for Australia Michael Hussey is still occupying the top spot and is the only batsman currently holding more than 800 ratings points (817).
West Indies all-rounder Chris Gayle has moved up two places to number five in the LG ICC Player Ratings for ODI batsmen while other players on an upward move include Matthew Hayden (up 11 places to 23rd spot) and Stephen Fleming (up four places to 24th).
Following New Zealand's 3-0 clean sweep of Australia, Fleming's side has moved ahead of Pakistan into third place in the LG ICC ODI Championship, a timely boost for the team ahead of the upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup in the West Indies.
As a reflection of their impressive run chases in New Zealand, other Black Cap batsmen have moved up the rankings as well as Fleming. Peter Fulton and Craig McMillan are in joint 43rd position having moved up 11 and six places respectively while Ross Taylor is up 18 places to 49th spot and Brendon McCullum is up five places to 56th position. The biggest mover of the week is Mark Gillespie who is up 27 places to 62nd spot.
Despite its recent run of defeats, Australia still boasts four batsmen in the top ten.
Meanwhile, South Africa's Shaun Pollock is now a phenomenal 157 ratings points clear at the top of the LG ICC Player Rankings for ODI bowlers. With his side now leading the LG ICC ODI Championship, Pollock is enjoying a timely peak in form with the ICC Cricket World Cup in the West Indies now less than three weeks away.
The 33-year-old KwaZulu Natal all-rounder is now way out in front from Glenn McGrath of Australia in second, Pollock's Proteas team-mate Makhaya Ntini in third and Kiwi Daniel Vettori in fourth.
Sri Lanka fast bowler Chaminda Vaas, who incidentally shares a birthday with Vettori, is just one place behind the slow left-armer having moved up two places past Australia's Brett Lee and Nathan Bracken.
Interestingly, Bracken has fallen from second place to eighth in the 25 days since Australia Day (January 26).
New Zealand's Shane Bond is also hitting his straps at the right time, following a good series against Australia. He is up three places to seventh spot in the latest LG ICC Player Rankings for ODI bowlers.
Pollock is still number one in the LG ICC Player Rankings for ODI all-rounders from Gayle in second place and England's Andrew Flintoff in third position. The only move in the top five is Jacques Kallis, who has gone up one place into fourth, past Sri Lanka veteran Sanath Jayasuriya.
LG ICC ODI Championship as of February 21:
Rank Team Points
1 South Africa 128
2 Australia 125
3 New Zealand 113
4 Pakistan 111
5 India 109
6 Sri Lanka 108
7 England 106
8 West Indies 101
9 Bangladesh 42
10 Zimbabwe 22
11 Kenya 0
LG ICC One-Day Rankings:
(Batsmen)
Rank (+/-) Player Team Points Ave Highest Ranking
1 ( - ) Mike Hussey Aus 817 66.88 863 v NZ at Perth 2007
2 (+1) Mahendra Dhoni Ind 779 46.61 806 v WI at Kingston 2006
3 (-1) Ricky Ponting Aus 768 42.48 805 v SA at Johannesburg 2006
4 ( - ) Kevin Pietersen Eng 767* 56.50 802 v Aus at Melbourne 2007
5 (+2) Chris Gayle WI 741 38.74 804 v Aus at Mumbai 2006
6 (-1) Andrew Symonds Aus 737 38.81 774 v Ban at Fatullah 2006
7 (-1) K.C.Sangakkara SL 735 36.26 760 v Ind at Rajkot 2007
8 ( - ) Mhd Yousuf Pak 731 41.77 777 v SA at Rawalpindi 2003
9 (+1) Graeme Smith SA 718 38.36 784 v Ind at Kolkata 2005
10= (-1) Adam Gilchrist Aus 712 35.62 820 v SL at Dambulla 2004
(+1) S.T.Jayasuriya SL 712 32.87 838 v Ban at Pietermaritzburg 2003
12 ( - ) R.R.Sarwan WI 710 44.33 798 v Ind at St Kitts 2006
13 ( - ) Rahul Dravid Ind 704 40.01 754 v WI at Kingston 2006
14 ( - ) S.Chanderpaul WI 699 37.98 754 v SA at Durban 1999
15= (+5) Yuvraj Singh Ind 680 35.29 739 v WI at Port-of-Spain 2006
( - ) Michael Clarke Aus 680 42.54 749 v SA at Centurion 2006
17 (-1) Jacques Kallis SA 678 44.37 816 v WI at Johannesburg 2004
18 (-1) H.H.Gibbs SA 674 35.50 750 v SL at Durban 2003
19 (-1) Shahriar Nafees Ban 672* 38.63 684 v Zim at Harare 2007
20 (-1) S.R.Tendulkar Ind 666 44.12 887 v Zim at Sharjah 1998
(Bowlers)
Rank (+/-) Player Team Points Ave Econ Highest Ranking
1 ( - ) Shaun Pollock SA 920 23.74 3.71 920 v Pak at Johannesburg 2006
2 ( - ) Glenn McGrath Aus 763 22.63 3.86 903 v SA at Bloemfontein 2002
3 ( - ) Makhaya Ntini SA 746 22.94 4.40 782 v WI at Cape Town 2004
4 ( - ) Daniel Vettori NZ 740 33.36 4.20 767 v Eng at Perth 2007
5 (+2) Chaminda Vaas SL 726 26.96 4.20 861 v SA at Colombo (RPS) 2004
6 (-1) Brett Lee Aus 725 22.65 4.69 853 v SA at Melbourne 2006
7 (+3) Shane Bond NZ 722 19.66 4.36 762 v WI at Auckland 2006
8 (-2) Nathan Bracken Aus 721 22.23 4.45 786 v Eng at Brisbane 2007
9 (-1) M.Muralidaran SL 716 23.08 3.83 913 v NZ at Sharjah 2002
10 (-1) Ian Bradshaw WI 701 28.06 4.26 792 v Ind at Ahmedabad 2006
11 ( - ) M Mortaza Ban 672 27.49 4.55 672 v Zim at Harare 2007
12 (+1) Abdur Razzaq Ban 660* 20.98 3.66 669 v Zim at Harare 2007
13 (-1) Harbhajan Singh Ind 656 31.97 4.13 735 v WI at Bridgetown 2002
14 (+3) Ajit Agarkar Ind 639 27.55 5.05 676 v WI at Kuala Lumpur 2006
15= ( - ) Andrew Flintoff Eng 633 26.41 4.39 755 v Ban at Dhaka 2003
(-1) Kyle Mills NZ 633 28.20 4.66 690 v Aus at Mohali 2006
17 (-1) Mhd Rafiq Ban 631 38.83 4.39 650 v Zim at Bogra 2006
18 ( - ) Andre Nel SA 629 29.17 4.69 656 v Pak at Centurion 2007
19 ( - ) Andrew Hall SA 626 26.06 4.52 632 v Zim at Potchefstroom 2006
20 (+1) Naved-ul-Hasan Pak 608 27.16 5.53 743 v Ind at Peshawar 2006
(All-rounders)
Rank (+/-) Player Team Points Highest Ranking
1 ( - ) Shaun Pollock SA 483 483 v Pak at Johannesburg 2006
2 ( - ) Chris Gayle WI 422 511 v Zim at Harare 2003
3 ( - ) Andrew Flintoff Eng 397 544 v SL at The Rose Bowl 2004
4 (+1) Jacques Kallis SA 365 505 v WI at Bridgetown 2001
5 (-1) S.T.Jayasuriya SL 360 463 v Pak at Lahore 1997
