Lara back in top three as Waugh slides
West Indian batsman Brian Lara has returned to the top three in the world Test ratings at the expense of Australia's Steve Waugh.
Lara climbs three places, knocking Australia captain Waugh out of the top three for the first time since April 1995.
The left-handed Lara, who has been dogged by a hamstring injury in recent months, made 337 runs in the two Tests against Sri Lanka although West Indies still lost both matches.
Waugh's form has suffered recently and he was out for three in Australia's first innings in the first Test against New Zealand and was lbw for nought in the second Test.
Sri Lanka's in-form spinner Muttiah Muralitharan climbs to 902 points -- the first time any Sri Lankan has been above 900.
Match-winner Muralitharan took six for 81 in the second innings against West Indies to go with his 4-54 in the first.
The ratings show three bowlers over 900 for the first time with Muralitharan joining Australia's Glenn McGrath (911) and South Africa's Shaun Pollock (909).
The third and final match in the series between South Africa and India will not be included in the ratings. The International Cricket Council (ICC) stripoped the match of its Test status after ICC-appointed match referee Mike Denness was sacked.
Leading ratings sponsored by PricewaterhouseCoopers and issued on Monday:
Top 10 batsmen:
| Player |
Team |
Points |
Average |
| Andy Flower |
Zimbabwe |
898 |
56.60 |
| S.R.Tendulkar |
India |
873 |
57.35 |
| Brian Lara |
West Indies |
840 |
48.72 |
| Steve Waugh |
Australia |
837 |
51.32 |
| M.Jayawardene |
Sri Lanka |
834 |
48.52 |
| Inzamam-ul-Haq |
Pakistan |
818 |
47.73 |
| Adam Gilchrist |
Australia |
793 |
52.10 |
| Jacques Kallis |
South Africa |
776 |
47.86 |
| Rahul Dravid |
India |
762 |
52.34 |
| H.H.Gibbs |
South Africa |
723 |
41.17 |
Top 10 bowlers:
| Player |
Team |
Points |
Average |
| Glenn McGrath |
Australia |
911 |
21.63 |
| Shaun Pollock |
South Africa |
909 |
20.14 |
| M.Muralitharan |
Sri Lanka |
902 |
24.21 |
| Allan Donald |
South Africa |
785 |
21.64 |
| Darren Gough |
England |
746 |
27.57 |
| Shane Warne |
Australia |
711 |
26.30 |
| Jason Gillespie |
Australia |
705 |
24.73 |
| Waqar Younis |
Pakistan |
686 |
23.02 |
| Javagal Srinath |
India |
683 |
29.31 |
| Saqlain Mushtaq |
Pakistan |
678 |
29.45 |
Mail Cricket Editor
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