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Philander soars in rankings

Rob Houwing, Sport24 chief writer

Cape Town - New Proteas bowling sensation Vernon Philander has climbed by 12 spots in the Reliance ICC player rankings for bowlers after his 10-wicket match haul in the first-Test thrashing of Sri Lanka at Centurion.

On Monday’s updated list, the stocky Cape Cobras competitor had jumped from 40th to 28th position, which is an incredible achievement for someone who has only played three Tests but already boasts 24 scalps at an average of 12.38.

Established South African star Dale Steyn, usually more accustomed to monopolising the limelight, claimed excellent match figures of his own at SuperSport Park - six for 54 - and that was more than enough to solidify his healthy foothold at No 1.

The Phalaborwa Express stays top of the pile with a rating of 902 under the ICC formula, holding off a trio of Englishmen - second-placed James Anderson (rating 811), Graeme Swann and Stuart Broad.

Despite an off-colour showing in seam-friendly conditions in the first Test, Morne Morkel stays a solid fifth, although he has previously been placed as high as No 3.

*Philander’s early achievements in the Test arena have been such that he is bound to start attracting interest from Indian Premier League franchises, hence uncertainty over whether he will spend the early part of the county season with Somerset or join the Twenty20 jamboree.

He was confirmed late last week for a two-month early-season stint at Taunton, although with an escape option if IPL possibilities enter the radar.

It would probably benefit the national cause more if he gets some useful acclimatisation with Somerset, as the Proteas have a three-Test tour of top-ranked England in the middle of 2012.

He bowls an ideal length for English conditions and “presents the seam”, as Kepler Wessels describes it, so will be a key element in South Africa’s quest to topple the English again at home.

Domestically, Philander is held in much higher regard in the first-class game, and did not even play for the Cobras “juggernaut” in the final of the 1-Day Cup at Newlands recently.

Reliance ICC Test Rankings (as of 19 December, after first Test between South Africa and Sri Lanka):

Batsmen (top 10) Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Ave HS Rating

1 ( - ) K.Sangakkara SL 844 56.25 938 v Eng at Kandy 2007

2 ( - ) Jacques Kallis SA 839 56.77 935 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 ( - ) Younus Khan Pak 787 52.93 880 v SL at Lahore 2009

6 (+1) S.Tendulkar Ind 785 56.02 898 v Zim at Nagpur 2002

7 (+6) AB de Villiers SA 778 47.93 810 v Ind at Centurion 2010

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

9 ( - ) Rahul Dravid Ind 773 53.22 892 v Pak at Kolkata 2005

10 (-5) Hashim Amla SA 772 47.20 842 v Ind at Kolkata 2010

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

12 (-1) Graeme Smith SA 768 50.01 843 v Eng at Johannesburg 2010

16 (+1) T.Samaraweera SL 707 52.20 766 v Eng at The Rose Bowl 2011

24 (-1) M.Jayawardena SL 644 51.01 883 v Ind at Ahmedabad 2009

33 (+1) Ashwell Prince SA 592 42.40 756 v Pak at Centurion 2007

36 (-3) T.Dilshan SL 571 41.16 700 v Ind at Ahmedabad 2009

39 ( - ) Angelo Mathews SL 559* 42.45 582 v Pak at Dubai 2011

42 (-1) N.T.P'thana SL 537 34.59 547 v Pak at Sharjah 2011

50 (+2) Mark Boucher SA 495 30.49 566 v WI at Port-of-Spain 2010

52 (-2) Prasanna J'dena SL 480 31.88 504 v Eng at The Rose Bowl 2011

Bowlers (top 10) Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Avge Econ HS Rating

1 ( - ) Dale Steyn SA 902 22.82 902 v SL at Centurion 2011

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

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

4 (+1) Stuart Broad Eng 744! 32.00 744 v Ind at The Oval 2011

5 (-2) Morne Morkel SA 734 30.29 776 v Aus at Cape Town 2011

6 ( - ) Zaheer Khan Ind 692 31.78 752 v SA at Durban 2010

7 ( - ) Daniel Vettori NZ 654 33.67 681 v Aus at Auckland 2000

8 ( - ) Saeed Ajmal Pak 651*! 30.18 651 v Ban at Chittagong 2011

9 ( - ) Shakib Al Hasan Ban 629* 32.34 680 v WI at Mirpur 2011

10 (+1) Tim Bresnan Eng 623* 23.60 623 v Ind at The Oval 2011

Other selected rankings Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Avge Econ HS Rating

13 (-3) Rangana Herath SL 614 35.30 626 v Pak at Sharjah 2011

28 (+12) Vernon Philander SA 522* 12.37 522 v SL at Centurion 2011

32 (-2) Jacques Kallis SA 473 32.50 742 v Eng at Headingley 2003

41 (+4) C.Welegedara SL 418*! 40.26 418 v SA at Centurion 2011

46 (-3) Dilhara Fernando SL 386* 37.93 543 v Ban at Colombo (PSS) 2007

71 ( - ) T.Dilshan SL 252* 40.10 255 v Pak at Dubai 2011

93 (+17) Imran Tahir SA 128* 31.66 128 v SL at Centurion 2011 110 (+25) Thisara Perera SL 83*! 59.20 83 v SA at Centurion 2011 111 (+7) Angelo Mathews SL 82* 62.00 110 v Pak at Colombo (SSC) 2009

All-rounders (top five) Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts HS Rating

1 ( - ) Jacques Kallis SA 397 616 v Pak at Durban 2002

2 ( - ) Daniel Vettori NZ 385 412 v Pak at Napier 2009

3 ( - ) Shane Watson Aus 379 /* 394 v SA at Johannesburg 2011

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

5 ( - ) Shakib Al Hasan Ban 345 /* 375 v WI at Mirpur 2011
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