Dubai, ICC Media Release, 24 October 2011: England’s Eoin Morgan, Ajantha Mendis of Sri Lanka and Shane Watson of Australia were announced as the number-one ranked batsman, bowler and all-rounder, respectively in the Reliance ICC T20I Player Rankings which were released in Dubai today (Monday).
In 18 T20Is, Morgan has scored 569 runs at an average of 47.41 and only Matthew Hayden (308 runs at 51.33) and Andrew Symonds (337 runs at 48.14) have better averages than the left-hander. Commenting on the launch of the rankings, the 25-year-old said: “International Twenty20 rankings give players an ideal guide as to how they’re performing in this form of the game.
“From an England perspective it’s great to see a number of colleagues feature in the player rankings and I know they, like all players listed, will be looking to improve their positions and develop their game as we look forward to playing more international Twenty20 cricket ahead of Sri Lanka next year,” he added.
While Morgan is the only batsman to boast a rating of over 800 points on the day of the launch, New Zealand’s Brendon McCullum and Kevin Pietersen of England are both within striking range. Second-ranked McCullum is on 799 ratings points while third-ranked Pietersen, who is likely to face India in Kolkata on Saturday, is sitting on 793 ratings points.
The top 20 list includes four batsmen each from Australia and South Africa and three each from Sri Lanka and India.
Ajantha Mendis, who won the ICC Emerging Player of the Year award at the LG ICC Awards in Dubai in 2008, leads the field in the bowlers’ category.
The 26-year-old from Moratuwa is the fourth leading wicket-taker behind Pakistan trio – Shahid Afridi (53), Umar Gul (47) and Saeed Ajmal (45) – with 39 wickets in 20 matches. His bowling figures of six for 16 against Australia in Pallekele on 8 August 2011 stands as the best bowling figures in T20Is to date.
“I feel honoured and humbled to be ranked as the top bowler in a list which includes some of the finest current bowlers,” he said. “While celebrating my number-one ranking, I cannot thank my team-mates enough for their continued support and guidance. If fact, our number-two position on the Championship table illustrates how well we have gelled as a team and consistently produced good performances,” he added.
The salient feature of the bowlers’ ranking is that seven spinners figure inside the top 10. New Zealand’s left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori, who has recently retired from the shortest version of the game but remains one of the most respected voices in cricket, was impressed with these stats when he said: “I believe spin bowlers have adapted to T20 cricket better than most. “To see spinners succeed in a tough environment is great for the game and means bowlers can enjoy Twenty20 cricket, most of the time!”
Shane Watson leads the all-rounders’ category that also includes three Pakistanis in second-ranked Afridi, fourth-ranked Mohammad Hafeez and 10th-ranked Abdul Razzaq inside the top 10. David Hussey is in third position as the top 10 also includes two South Africans in Jacques Kallis and Albie Morkel.
A humble Watson said: “With so many fantastic players in world cricket it is a great honor to be recognised as the number-one all-rounder in the international Twenty20 cricket. While personal milestones and accolades are nice, our goal as a team is to play more consistent T20 cricket and allow the rankings to take care of themselves.
“The games we play over the Australia summer are a wonderful opportunity to begin this climb and prepare ourselves in the best way possible for the ICC World Twenty20 Sri Lanka next year.”
Reliance ICC T20I Rankings (as of 24 October 2011)
Batsmen
Rank Player Team Pts Ave HS Rating
1 Eoin Morgan Eng 832* 47.41 866 v Ind at Old Trafford 2011
2 B.McCullum NZ 799 36.61 824 v Aus at Christchurch 2010
3 Kevin Pietersen Eng 793 36.10 873 v Aus at Barbados 2010
4 M. Jayawardene SL 784 31.76 787 v WI at Barbados 2010
5 Suresh Raina Ind 742*! 32.00 742 v Eng at Old Trafford 2011
6 T.Dilshan SL 733 32.07 814 v NZ at Colombo (RPS) 2009
7 K. Sangakkara SL 732 32.37 769 v WI at Barbados 2010
8 Umar Akmal Pak 714 32.68 716 v Zim at Harare 2011
9 Shane Watson Aus 701* 26.09 715 v SA at Cape Town 2011
10 Graeme Smith SA 700 31.67 750 v Zim at Kimberley 2010
11 David Warner Aus 695 26.72 839 v Ind at Barbados 2010
12 Yuvraj Singh Ind 668* 31.50 806 v SA at St Lucia 2010
13 JP Duminy SA 663 31.08 684 v Aus at Cape Town 2011
14 Chris Gayle WI 660 32.47 818 v Ind at Barbados 2010
15 Cameron White Aus 652 31.60 653 v Pak at Edgbaston 2010
16 Gautam Gambhir Ind 631 28.22 738 v SL at Mohali 2009
17 Jacques Kallis SA 627* 34.13 737 v WI at Antigua 2010
18 David Hussey Aus 625 24.70 716 v Pak at Edgbaston 2010
19 Martin Guptill NZ 617*! 27.30 617 v Zim at Harare 2011
20 AB de Villiers SA 515 23.23 574 v WI at Antigua 2010
Bowlers
Rank Player Team Pts Avge Econ HS Rating
1 Ajantha Mendis SL 748! 10.89 748 v Aus at Kandy 2011
2 Graeme Swann Eng 727 17.23 770 v Pak at Cardiff 2010
3 Saeed Ajmal Pak 721 16.15 766 v SA at St Lucia 2010
4 N.McCullum NZ 711! 15.03 711 v Zim at Harare 2011
5 Johan Botha SA 703 20.79 724 v WI at Antigua 2010
6 Shahid Afridi Pak 689 18.96 819 v SL at Colombo (RPS) 2009
7 Shaun Tait Aus 682 17.78 782 v Pak at Edgbaston 2010
8 Darren Sammy WI 671 15.33 688 v Eng at The Oval 2011
9 Harbhajan Singh Ind 653 30.05 706 v WI at Barbados 2010
10 Lasith Malinga SL 652 20.08 679 v Eng at Bristol 2011
11 Morne Morkel SA 641 16.28 649 v Aus at Cape Town 2011
12 Mitchell Johnson Aus 638 20.11 718 v WI at St Lucia 2010
13 Stuart Broad Eng 609 22.18 671 v Pak at Cardiff 2010
14 Shakib Al Hasan Ban 605*! 18.57 605 v WI at Mirpur 2011
15 Dirk Nannes Net/Aus 601* 16.39 678 v SL at Perth 2010
16 Dale Steyn SA 599 18.31 690 v WI at Antigua 2010
17 Abdur Razzak Ban 589*! 16.13 589 v WI at Mirpur 2011
18 Tim Bresnan Eng 581*! 38.33 581 v WI at The Oval 2011
19 Prosper Utseya Zim 576* 23.56 578 v NZ at Harare 2011
20 Trent Johnston Ire 563*! 16.75 563 v Eng at Guyana 2010
All-rounders
Rank Player Team Pts HS Rating
1 Shane Watson Aus 385*/* 400 v SA at Cape Town 2011
2 Shahid Afridi Pak 339 415 v NZ at Dubai 2009
3 David Hussey Aus 316 /* 341 v Pak at Edgbaston 2010
4 M.Hafeez Pak 246*/*! 246 v Zim at Harare 2011
5 Chris Gayle WI 194 /* 287 v Ind at Barbados 2010
6 Yuvraj Singh Ind 182*/* 198 v SA at Moses Mabhida 2011
7 Jacques Kallis SA 179*/* 248 v WI at Antigua 2010
8 T.Dilshan SL 169 /* 173 v Aus at Kandy 2011
9 Albie Morkel SA 164*/ 220 v Pak at St Lucia 2010
10 Abdul Razzaq Pak 163*/* 183 v NZ at Christchurch 2010
*indicates provisional rating; a batsman qualifies for a full rating after he has scored 600 or more runs; a bowler qualifies for a full rating after he bowled 400 deliveries.
!indicates career-highest rating.
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