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Steyn tops ICC world rankings
07/04/2008 18:22 - (SA)
Johannesburg - Dale Steyn, spearhead of the Proteas' Test attack, has moved to the top of the ICC Player Rankings for Test bowlers after another wonderful display of fast bowling in India that saw him claim eight wickets in the second Test including his eighth hall of five wickets in an innings.
He has already taken 41 wickets in the current calendar year which places him ahead of any other bowler.
Steyn now has 897 ratings points and is level with Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralidaran, who has been top of the bowlers' list since February 2006. The iconic spinner has not been out of the top five bowlers since mid-2000. He has dropped below 900 ratings points for the first time since June 2006.
The 24-year-old from Phalaborwa has enjoyed a rapid rise in the rankings since making his debut against England in Port Elizabeth at the end of 2004. Since then he has taken 117 wickets in just 41 innings at an average of 21.41, including another eight scalps during the second Test in Ahmedabad, which his team won by an innings and 90 runs.
Opportunity to go top of the table
Steyn now ranks 22nd in the all-time list of Test bowlers, 12 places behind the career best of compatriot Shaun Pollock but ahead of other great South African bowlers such as Allan Donald and Hugh Tayfield, who are both ranked in joint-26th position.
With one more Test left in the current series in India, Steyn has the opportunity to go top of the table on his own and also to become just the 20th bowler in the history of Test cricket to pass the magic 900-point mark in the ratings.
Other bowlers to have peaked at 897 ratings points include Ray Lindwall of Australia, Jim Laker of England and the West Indies' Lance Gibbs, putting Steyn in some pretty impressive company.
Steyn stands out from the rest in that he has taken 22 matches to reach the top. By contrast, it took Pollock 33 matches to do it and Donald 41.
Steyn's achievement was hailed by South African captain Graeme Smith and coach Mickey Arthur.
"It is an awesome achievement and something of which we are all very proud," commented Smith. "He certainly deserves the success he has achieved."
"I am absolutely delighted for Dale," commented Arthur, "and I am sure all his teammates feel just the same way. He has worked very hard for what he has achieved and fully deserves to be recognized in this way."
The news is not so good for Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara, who has slipped from the top of the ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen after a relatively disappointing series in the West Indies.
Realistic goal
His place at the top is taken by Australia's Michael Hussey, who is currently the only batsman in the world with more than 900 ratings points.
It is very congested at the top of the batting list with just 32 ratings points separating Hussey at the top and Mohammad Yousuf of Pakistan in fifth position. Ricky Ponting of Australia and South Africa's Jacques Kallis share second spot, with Sangakkara fourth.
Kallis will be pushing Hussey all the way in the third and final Test against India at Kanpur and if he can reproduce the sort of performance that saw him score 132 in Ahmedabad, he could even take over at the top.
That could place South Africa in the enviable position of having both the top ranked batsman and bowler as well as Kallis already being the leading all-rounder.
Kallis's team-mate AB de Villiers achieved a career-best rating following his unbeaten double-century against India. The 24-year-old is now in 21st position and will be eyeing a place in the top 20 as a realistic goal for the third Test. He has also lifted his career Test average back above 40.
Proteas captain Graeme Smith is up one spot to 14th while several India batsmen, including Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman, have suffered the slide after a forgettable Test match in Ahmedabad.
South Africa are also up to third place in the ICC Test team rankings with Sri Lanka having dropped to fifth after sharing their series in the West Indies.
South Africa can take second spot from India if they win or draw Friday's final Test in Kanpur.
- SAPA
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