Hafeez to the fore as Pakistan’s ODI bowlers dominate at the top by International Cricket Council

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Player:	Mohammad Hafeez
Event:	Pakistan in Bangladesh 2011/12

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DateLine: 7th December 2011

 

Media Release - 7 December 2011

 

Hafeez to the fore as Pakistan’s ODI bowlers dominate at the top
Rankings progress too for Ashwin, Virat, Rohit and Rampaul

 

Pakistan players now occupy the top two positions in the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for ODI bowlers after a strong performance from Mohammad Hafeez in the recent three-match series in Bangladesh.

 

The 31-year-old gains six places in the latest rankings and now sits just 19 ratings points behind team-mate Saeed Ajmal, who heads the list.

 

Hafeez took six wickets in the series at an average of just 8.16 and an economy-rate of less than two runs per over making him the pick of an impressive bunch. Ajmal did enough to stay top of the world rankings with series figures of 4-52.

 

There were also gains for Umar Gul, who rose three places to 26th position, and Shoaib Malik, who gained 35 places to 82nd in the world.

 

Hafeez’s bowling, coupled with some good support with the bat down the order, has earned him one place on the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for ODI all-rounders and he now occupies second position, having overtaken Australia’s Shane Watson. He is just 13 ratings points behind leader Shakib Al Hasan of Bangladesh.

 

Despite losing the series 3-0, Shakib was his usual competitive self and his series figures of 4-90 earned him three places on the bowling rankings as he moves to seventh overall.

 

For India, R Ashwin has broken into the top 20 of the bowling charts for the first time in his career. With two matches remaining in the ongoing series with the West Indies, the 25-year-old from Chennai has gained three places and moves up to 18th position in the rankings.

 

There is also good progress for Ravi Rampaul in the bowling rankings (up one place to 13th), while in the batting list those moving up include Lendl Simmons (up five spots to 25th), Darren Bravo (up 15 to 54th) and Andre Russell (up 34 to 76th). For India, Virat Kohli (up one place to fourth) and Rohit Sharma (up 21 places to 35th) also improve. However, Gautam Gambhir loses seven places in the latest rankings to 19th position and is now level with South Africa’s JP Duminy.

 

ICC One-Day Rankings (as of 7 December, after Bangladesh v Pakistan series)

 

Batsmen
1 Hashim Amla, SA
2 AB de Villiers, SA
3 Jonathan Trott, Eng
4= MS Dhoni, Ind and Virat Kohli, Ind
6 Shane Watson, Aus
7 K Sangakkara, SL
8 Mike Hussey, Aus
9 Michael Clarke, Aus
10 Umar Akmal, Pak
11 Jacques Kallis, SA
12= Ricky Ponting, Aus and T Dilshan, SL
14 M Jayawardene, SL
15 Ross Taylor, NZ
16 Brendan Taylor, Zim
17 R ten Doeschate, Netherlands
18 Sachin Tendulkar, Ind
19= Gautam Gambhir, Ind and JP Duminy, SA

 

Bowlers
1 Saeed Ajmal, Pak
2 Mohammad Hafeez, Pak
3 Daniel Vettori, NZ
4 Graeme Swann, Eng
5 Mitchell Johnson, Aus
6 Morne Morkel, SA
7 Shakib Al Hasan, Ban
8 Doug Bollinger, Aus
9= Shahid Afridi, Pak and Dale Steyn, SA
11 Lasith Malinga, SL
12 Ray Price, Zim
13 Ravi Rampaul, WI
14 L Tsotsobe, SA
15 Jacob Oram, NZ
16 Brett Lee, Aus
17 Kyle Mills, NZ
18 R Ashwin*, Ind
19 James Anderson, Eng
20 Johan Botha, SA

 

All-rounders
1 Shakib Al Hasan, Ban
2 Mohammad Hafeez, Pak
3 Shane Watson, Aus
4 Shahid Afridi, Pak
5 Jacques Kallis, SA

 

*Indicates a provisional rating

 

For more information go to www.reliancemobileiccrankings.com.

 

-ENDS-

 

For further information, please contact:
James Fitzgerald, ICC – Media and Communications Manager
Tel: +971 4 382 8872
Mob: +971 50 640 1223
Email: james.fitzgerald@icc-cricket.com

(Article: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author only.
Copyright © 2011 International Cricket Council)