Reliance-ICC ODI rankings: Swann in third spot, Morgan is highest-ranked England ODI batsman

DUBAI - England’s off-spinner Graeme Swann has vaulted into a career-best third position in the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for ODI bowlers after a stellar performance against Pakistan in the ODI series which concluded in Southampton on Wednesday.

Swann took 3-26 at The Rose Bowl to finish the series with 11 wickets. As such, he was rewarded with a jump of 15 places which has put him in third position and complements his number-two ranking in the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for Test bowlers.

Swann is amongst the four cricketers in the running to receive the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for Cricketer of the Year at the LG ICC Awards ceremony which is scheduled to take place in Bengaluru on 6 October 2010.

The other England bowler moving up the order is fast bowler James Anderson who has jumped four places to 12th position after a series haul of six wickets. Stuart Broad, who was the third most successful bowler of the series with 11 wickets, has strengthened his sixth position.

For Pakistan, off-spinner Saeed Ajmal has moved into 13th position after climbing four places following his nine wickets in the series while the pace duo of Umar Gul and Shoaib Akhtar have also improved their rankings significantly.

Umar, who finished the series as the leading wicket-taker with 12 wickets, has rocketed 18 places to 23rd spot while Shoaib’s eight wickets in the series have helped him rise 14 places to 45th spot.

Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi, however, has dropped out of the top 10 by slipping six places to 16th position after managing just four wickets in the series.

In the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for ODI batsmen, Eoin Morgan has achieved a career-best 13th position which has made him the highest-ranked England ODI batsman.

Morgan totalled 225 runs in the series, including a match-winning 107 not out at The Rose Bowl which earned him the man of the match award, has jumped six places to 14th position.

England captain and man of the series Andrew Strauss has also climbed 10 places in the latest rankings and now sits just behind Morgan in 15th position. Strauss was the most prolific run-getter in the series with 317 runs which included a century and two half-centuries.

England’s wicketkeeper-batsman Steve Davies has entered the rankings in 113th position after scoring 197 runs in his debut series.

However, Paul Collingwood has failed to retain his pre-series 14th position and has slipped to 19th position while Mohammad Yousuf has dropped seven places to 25th spot.

The only good news for Pakistan is the improvement in the batting ranking of its wicketkeeper-batsman Kamran Akmal who has moved to 44th position after rising eight places following his series contribution of 201 runs.

The batting table is headed by AB de Villiers of South Africa with MS Dhoni of India in second position and Michael Hussey of Australia in third place.

In the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for ODI all-rounders, Shahid Afridi has fallen from the top position to give Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan sole position of the number-one spot.

Shahid took four wickets and scored 99 runs in the series and, as such, he has dropped two places to third spot. Collingwood has also lost a position and is now in eighth position.

In the Reliance Mobile ICC ODI Championship, both the sides have retained their pre-series rankings though a 3-2 series result means England has dropped a rating point while Pakistan has gained a ratings point.

England has now joined New Zealand on 112 ratings points but is ranked higher when the ratings are calculated beyond the decimal point while Pakistan has moved to 99 ratings points.

However, New Zealand will have a chance to go clear of England when it travels to Bangladesh to play in a five-ODI starting on 5 October. (ANI)