POSTED: Thursday January 8th 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Vettori reclaims top spot in Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for ODI bowlers

Black Caps skipper takes back number one place from Nathan Bracken; Oram slips six places while Chris Gayle also falls in batting and all-rounder list

Zimbabwe can gain one place in Reliance Mobile ICC ODI Championship during tri-series as Sri Lanka has England in its sights

 

New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori has made a superb start to 2009 by becoming the number-one ranked ODI bowler in the world again.

 

The left-arm spinner, who turns 30 later this month, has taken six wickets in the first three matches of the current series against the West Indies at an impressive average of just 12.33 and a thrifty economy rate of 3.08. In the process he has moved above Australia’s Nathan Bracken into top spot in the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for ODI bowlers.

 

It is not the first time Vettori has been at the summit, having spent much of the first half of last year in first position. But Bracken toppled him in June 2008, coincidentally also while playing against the West Indies, but now the 31-year-old New South Welshman has been consigned to second spot once again.

 

Nevertheless, Bracken has the perfect opportunity to retake number-one place having been named in Australia’s one-day squad for the upcoming five-ODI series against South Africa.

 

Things are continuing to go well for Vettori’s team-mate Kyle Mills as his four wickets claimed in the series so far have earned him another place and put him in fourth, just ahead of Mitchell Johnson of Australia.

 

West Indies fast bowler Daren Powell has managed to move up two places to 17th position in the bowling rankings following a good start to the ODI series in New Zealand for him.

 

The big mover is young Black Cap Tim Southee who has managed to gain 20 places to put him in 75th position.

 

It’s not such good news for Jacob Oram, however. The big all-rounder has slipped six places to 14th in the bowling rankings after taking just one wicket in the series so far, at an average of 45.00.

 

Oram still clings on to number-one position in the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for ODI all-rounders although he has lost ground to England’s Andrew Flintoff in second position.

 

Another top-class player who has not fired on all cylinders during this series to date is West Indies talisman Chris Gayle. The hard-hitting left-hander has lost one place in the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for ODI batsmen and has dropped out of the top five, into sixth position.

 

His place has been taken by India’s Yuvraj Singh, who returns to the top five after a brief spell occupying sixth place. Top spot is still reserved for Yuvraj’s captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who is closely followed by Michael Hussey of Australia in second place and Proteas’ captain Graeme Smith in third.

 

Gayle has also dropped two places to fifth spot in the all-rounders’ list with South Africa’s Jacques Kallis the man to benefit from Gayle’s misfortune.

 

Meanwhile, Zimbabwe can move up one place to 10th in the Reliance Mobile ICC ODI Championship table if it beats Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in two matches coming up in Dhaka.

 

On Saturday Prosper Utseya’s team will take on the host at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur lying some six ratings points behind Ireland on the table.

 

A win there and another against Mahela Jayawardena’s Sri Lanka on Monday would not only put Zimbabwe in the final of that short triangular ODI series but would also move the African team ahead of Ireland on the log.

 

On the other hand, defeats in both those games would close the gap between Zimbabwe in 11th spot and Kenya in 12th to just one ratings point. And with Zimbabwe scheduled to play three more ODIs against Bangladesh later this month, there will be opportunities for plenty of movement up or down the list depending on how it performs.

 

Sri Lanka will keep the pressure on England in sixth position with three wins in the tri-series. At the moment Jayawardena and his men are just behind England and could draw level on 108 ratings points if they come out on top although would probably remain in seventh spot by a fraction of a point.

But defeat will put Sri Lanka under more pressure from behind particularly if the West Indies fares well in the remaining two ODIs in the ongoing series in New Zealand.

 

The tri-series and the following three-match showdown with Zimbabwe presents Bangladesh with the opportunity to gain ground on the West Indies in eighth spot. At the moment Mohammad Ashraful’s side is some 45 ratings points behind and will not catch the men from the Caribbean this month but a good showing will certainly put it on the right track.

 

Tri-series fixtures in Bangladesh

 

10 Jan – Bangladesh v Zimbabwe (ODI), Dhaka

12 Jan – Sri Lanka v Zimbabwe (ODI), Dhaka

14 Jan – Bangladhes v Sri Lanka (ODI), Dhaka

16 Jan – Final

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Keywords · ICC · cricket · Daniel Vettori

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Name: James Fitzgerald
Organization: ICC
Email:
Phone: +971 4 368 8347
URL: http://icc-cricket.yahoo.com

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