MICHAEL METELITS, Johannesburg | Wednesday 6.30pm.
LANCE KLUSENER has moved up seven places to second in the PricewaterhouseCoopers One-Day International batsmen’s rankings released on Wednesday. Klusener’s stunning performance in the recent World Cup played a significant role.
Jacques Kallis also moved up 5 places to number three in the new post-World Cup rankings, primarily on the strength of his performance against Australia in Birmingham. The two South African all-rounders displaced two top specialist batsmen in the rankings.
Sachin Tendulkar of India and the West Indies’ Brian Lara each dropped two places from number two and three respectively to number four and five. Both have previously held the number one ranking, currently held by Michael Bevan of Australia.
Tendulkar’s ratings may have been hurt by his absence for a few matches due to the death of his father during the World Cup, while Lara has been on a slow decline for the past year.
The rest of the South African squad saw significant shifts in position, as Hansie Cronje tumbled 13 places from number four to 17, and Darryl Cullinan slipped 10 places from number 23 to 33.
Herschelle Gibbs jumped 35 places from 66 to 31 on the strength of the Birmingham match against Australia.
Gary Kirsten only slipped 2 places from 24 to 26, while Jonty Rhodes was unchanged at 27.