Cape Town - South Africa’s Dale Steyn has become only the 20th bowler in history to break the 900-point mark barrier in the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Test bowlers after claiming six wickets in his side’s eight-wicket win against Australia in Cape Town on Friday.

Steyn began the Test on 899 ratings points and earned three ratings points for his efforts of 4-55 and 2-23 to become only the second South Africa bowler after Shaun Pollock to achieve the rare distinction.

In rankings terms, 900 or more ratings points means a player is truly outstanding, a benchmark for the very top bowlers.

A delighted Steyn said: “It is very special for me to join the 900-point club. There are a lot of world-class players in that region and it is an honour to be in their company.

“When I go out and bowl I hardly ever think of the rankings, for me it is about representing my country and giving my best for the team so sometimes it means a lot to receive the recognition.”

At 902 ratings points, Steyn is 17th in the all-time ratings list** with an excellent chance of moving further up that list provided he puts up another stellar performance in the second and final Test which starts in Johannesburg next Thursday.

Steyn has been holding the number one slot in the list for current players since the Durban Test against England in December 2009, although his first time at the top of that table came in April 2008. In 47 impressive Tests, the 28-year-old has taken 244 wickets.

Such is Steyn’s dominance in the bowling rankings that second-placed James Anderson of England trails him by 91 ratings points, while his team-mate Morne Morkel, who is the second best South Africa bowler in third position, is 126 ratings points behind.

Steyn lies in seventh position in the One-Day International bowlers’ list and 16th position in the Twenty20 International, facts that speak volumes for his outstanding talent, brilliance, consistency and a high level of fitness which has helped him succeed in all the three formats of the game.

While Steyn has achieved a career-best rating, Australia’s Shane Watson has earned a career-best ranking of 10th. Watson had figures of 5-2-17-5 in South Africa’s first innings score of 96 to lift him 15 places up the list.

Debutant Vernon Philander, one of the architects of Australia’s second innings collapse for 47 with figures of 7-3-15-5, has entered the bowlers’ rankings in 49th position.

In the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen, all three batsmen who scored centuries in a sensational Cape Town Test have made upward moves.

South Africa captain Graeme Smith, who scored 37 and 101 not out, has climbed eight places to seventh spot, Hashim Amla’s contributions of three and 112 have lifted him four places to eighth position – just eight rankings points behind his captain – and Michael Clarke has returned to the top 20 and lies in 17th position after gaining five places following his scores of 151 and two.

The Cape Town Test was a tough match for the batsmen, something that is reflected at the top of the batting table with South Africa’s Jacques Kallis finding himself overtaken at the summit of affairs by Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara.

Kallis had entered the match leading Sangakkara by three ratings points but has now slipped seven ratings points behind him after scores of nought and two not out. For Kallis to regain top spot he will now need to put up a solid performance in the second Test.

Other batsmen losing ground include Mike Hussey in 11th (down six places), AB de Villiers in 13th (slipping three spots), Shane Watson in 30th (dropping four slots), Ricky Ponting in 34th (down two positions), Brad Haddin in 42nd (falling five places), Mark Boucher in 48th (down three spots) and Phil Hughes in 53rd (slipping four places).

In the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Test all-rounders, Watson has moved into third position, ahead of Stuart Broad of England and Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan. The list is still headed by Kallis with Daniel Vettori of New Zealand in second spot.

Reliance ICC Test Rankings (as on 12 October, after the first Test between South Africa and Australia)

Batsmen

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

   1           (+1)         K.Sangakkara      SL           880         56.93     938 v Eng at Kandy 2007

   2           (-1)          Jacques Kallis       SA           873         57.17     935 v NZ at Centurion 2007

   3           ( - )          Alastair Cook       Eng         823         49.72     836 v Ind at Edgbaston 2011

   4           ( - )          Ian Bell                  Eng         822!       49.28     822 v Ind at The Oval 2011

   5           ( - )          S.Tendulkar          Ind          806         56.14     898 v Zim at Nagpur 2002

   6           (+1)         S.Chanderpaul     WI          798         49.52     901 v NZ at Napier 2008

   7           (+8)         Graeme Smith      SA           790         50.29     843 v Eng at Johannesburg 2010

   8           (+4)         Hashim Amla       SA           782         47.20     842 v Ind at Kolkata 2010

   9           (-1)          Jonathan Trott     Eng         776*      57.79     856 v SL at Cardiff 2011

  10         (-1)          Kevin Pietersen    Eng         770         50.48     909 v WI at Headingley 2007

  11         (-6)          Mike Hussey        Aus         763         52.18     921 v WI at Kingston 2008

  12         (-1)          Rahul Dravid        Ind          758         52.92     892 v Pak at Kolkata 2005

  13         (-3)          AB de Villiers        SA           745         47.01     810 v Ind at Centurion 2010

  17         (+5)         Michael Clarke    Aus         710         46.87     855 v Eng at Headingley 2009

  18         (-1)          VVS Laxman       Ind          707         46.33     781 v WI at Dominica 2011

  19         (-1)          Virender Sehwag  Ind          705         52.30     866 v SL at Galle 2010

  29         (+1)         G.Gambhir            Ind          622         47.87     886 v SL at Kanpur 2009

  30         (-4)          Shane Watson      Aus         612         37.90     729 v Eng at Perth 2010

  31         ( - )          Ashwell Prince      SA           604         42.84     756 v Pak at Centurion 2007

  34         (-2)          Ricky Ponting       Aus         590         52.72     942 v Eng at Adelaide 2006

  39         (+1)         Mahendra Dhoni Ind          551         37.69     662 v SA at Kolkata 2010

  42=       (-5)          Brad Haddin        Aus         526         36.36     637 v WI at Perth 2009

                (+1)         Darren Bravo       WI          526*      43.05     557 v Ban at Mirpur 2011

  48         (-3)          Mark Boucher      SA           504         30.55     566 v WI at Port-of-Spain 2010

  51         (+1)         Kirk Edwards        WI          481*      59.42     507 v Ban at Mirpur 2011

  53         (-4)          Phillip Hughes      Aus         473*      37.28     599 v Eng at Lord's 2009

  63         (+1)         Yuvraj Singh        Ind          407         35.00     506 v Pak at Karachi 2006

  76         ( - )          Marlon Samuels  WI          363         28.51     488 v SA at Durban 2008

  98         ( - )          Mitchell Johnson Aus         293         20.49     477 v Eng at Lord's 2009

  99         ( - )          Darren Sammy    WI          288*!    17.59     288 v Ind at Delhi 2011

103        (+5)         Peter Siddle           Aus         271*!    17.33     271 v SA at Cape Town 2011

Bowlers

Rank      (+/-)        Player                   Team     Pts          Avge      HS Rating

   1           ( - )          Dale Steyn            SA           902!       22.96     902 v Aus at Cape Town 2011

   2           ( - )          James Anderson  Eng         811         30.57     813 v Ind at Edgbaston 2011

   3           (+1)         Morne Morkel      SA           776!       29.47     776 v Aus at Cape Town 2011

   4           (-1)          Graeme Swann    Eng         755         28.82     858 v Pak at Lord's 2010

   5           ( - )          Stuart Broad         Eng         744!       32.00     744 v Ind at The Oval 2011

   6           ( - )          Zaheer Khan        Ind          706         31.78     752 v SA at Durban 2010

   7           ( - )          Shakib Al Hasan Ban        680*!    30.98     680 v WI at Mirpur 2011

   8           ( - )          Daniel Vettori       NZ          670         33.61     681 v Aus at Auckland 2000

   9           ( - )          Mitchell Johnson Aus         643         30.73     825 v Eng at Cardiff 2009

  10         (+15)      Shane Watson      Aus         633*!    28.29     633 v SA at Cape Town 2011

  16         ( - )          Ishant Sharma     Ind          594         35.02     671 v WI at Dominica 2011

  17         (-3)          Peter Siddle           Aus         590*      32.05     635 v Eng at Melbourne 2010

  20         ( - )          Fidel Edwards       WI          576         36.70     590 v Eng at Lord's 2009

  21         (-3)          Doug Bollinger     Aus         573*      25.92     666 v Ind at Mohali 2010

  22         (-1)          Paul Harris            SA           567         37.87     705 v Eng at Centurion 2009

  23         (+1)         Ryan Harris          Aus         562*!    21.37     562 v SA at Cape Town 2011

  24         (-2)          Darren Sammy    WI          560*!    28.20     560 v Ind at Delhi 2011

  28         (-1)          Jacques Kallis       SA           498         32.14     742 v Eng at Headingley 2003

  32         ( - )          Pragyan Ojha       Ind          478*!    36.85     478 v WI at Delhi 2011

  38         ( - )          Devendra Bishoo WI          426*!    31.08     426 v Ind at Delhi 2011

  39         ( - )          Kemar Roach       WI          414*      31.63     494 v SL at Pallekele 2010

  45         ( - )          R.Ashwin               Ind          342*!     14.22     342 v WI at Delhi 2011

  49         (NEW)    Vernon Philander SA           311*!    9.75       311 v Aus at Cape Town 2011

  51         (-1)          Ravi Rampaul     WI          307*!    36.68     307 v Ind at Delhi 2011

  71         (-1)          Virender Sehwag  Ind          215*      42.25     320 v Aus at Delhi 2008

  78         (-1)          L.Tsotsobe            SA           170*      49.77     179 v Ind at Durban 2010

  89         (-4)          Nathan Lyon        Aus         129*      38.25     193 v SL at Pallekele 2011

  95         (-1)          Michael Clarke    Aus         101*      40.66     265 v NZ at Wellington 2005

  98         ( - )          Yuvraj Singh        Ind          91*        54.11     140 v NZ at Hamilton 2009

100        (-3)          Mike Hussey        Aus         89*        28.00     101 v SL at Pallekele 2011

101        (-1)          Marlon Samuels  WI          87*!       82.28     87 v Ind at Delhi 2011

    

All-rounders

 

Rank      (+/-)        Player                   Team     Pts          HS Rating

   1           ( - )          Jacques Kallis       SA           435        616 v Pak at Durban 2002

   2           ( - )          Daniel Vettori       NZ          389        412 v Pak at Napier 2009

   3           (+2)         Shane Watson      Aus         387 /*!  387 v SA at Cape Town 2011

   4           (-1)          Stuart Broad         Eng         376!       376 v Ind at The Oval 2011

   5           (-1)          Shakib Al Hasan Ban        375 /*!  375 v WI at Mirpur 2011

 

*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 career-highest rating

 

** All-time Test bowlers’ ratings list can be found here.