ICC Media Release:

Sarwan achieves career-best 14th position in Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen; Chance for Pakistan to leapfrog Sri Lanka and England into fourth place

West Indies batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan has achieved a career-best position in the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen after a magnificent performance against England in the third Test at St John’s, Antigua.

Sarwan, who scored 94 and 106 and played a leading role in helping the West Indies escape with one of the most thrilling draws in the history of the game, has jumped seven places to 14th after starting the Test in 21st position.

The 28-year-old Guyanese is enjoying his best run of form which has already seen him score 307 runs in three innings and has helped him climb 12 places over the series to date.

Also making an upward movement is England captain Andrew Strauss whose 169 in the first innings has lifted him three places to put him alongside Sarwan in 14th spot.

Former England captain Kevin Pietersen has slipped two places to fifth after scores of 51 and 32. Australia’s Michael Clarke and Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardena have benefitted from the Hampshire batsman’s slip as the duo have moved one place up.

Jayawardena, captaining Sri Lanka for the last time in a Test series, is nicely placed to overtake Clarke as he prepares to lead his team against Pakistan in the two-Test series starting in Karachi from Saturday. Yunus Khan, captaining Pakistan for the first time, is also well positioned to break in the top five.

Shivnarine Chanderpaul, ICC Cricketer of the Year in 2008, still leads the batting chart though his lead over Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara has trimmed to just 20 points after he could score only one and 55 at the Antigua Recreation Ground.

A good first Test at the National Stadium can help Sangakkara regain the coveted number-one spot which he last held 12 months ago before surrendering it to Chanderpaul in Guyana.

There is no significant change in the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for Test bowlers except for Fidel Edwards who has returned to the top 20 after taking three wickets in the drawn Test.

England off-spinner spinner Graeme Swann has vaulted 15 places to 44th position after match figures of 63-19-149-8 in Antigua.

The bowling chart is led by Sri Lanka’s iconic spinner Muttiah Muralidaran who will be hoping to return to the 900-point mark.

Meanwhile, Pakistan returns to the Test scene after a gap of 14 months and immediately eyes an upward movement in the Reliance Mobile ICC Test Championship.

Currently sitting in sixth place on 98 ratings points, Pakistan has a chance to leapfrog Sri Lanka and England into fourth place if it wins both the Tests. A 2-0 win will lift the home side to 107 ratings points and will drop Jayawardena’s side to 104 ratings points.

A 1-0 win for Yunus’s side will put it on 104 ratings points, one ahead of sixth-placed England.

In contrast, if Sri Lanka sweeps the series it will rise to 113 ratings points, just five ratings points behind third-placed India while a 1-0 win will place it on 111 ratings points.

Test series schedule

21-25 Feb – First Test, Karachi

1-5 Mar – Second Test, Lahore