Gilchrist close to being Number One

Australia's Adam Gilchrist is just three points short of the number one spot in the latest world Test batting ratings.

Against a full-strength South African attack the scores of 138 not out and 24 that he posted in the Cape Town Test which finished on Tuesday, would have been enough to put Gilchrist top, but he remains tied in second place with Brian Lara.

In the bowling, Muttiah Muralitharan has stretched his lead over Glenn McGrath to six points, while Shane Warne, fourth on 762 points, is at his best rating for four years.

PricewaterhouseCoopers Test ratings issued on Tuesday:

Top ten batsmen Team Points Average
1.	Sachin Tendulkar	India	890	58.57
2.	Adam Gilchrist	Australia	887	60.38
2.	Brian Lara	West Indies	887	50.49
4.	Matthew Hayden	Australia	876	50.58
5.	Mahela Jayawardene	Sri Lanka	827	49.25
6.	Kumar Sangakkara	Sri Lanka	818	53.00
7.	Damien Martyn	Australia	785	53.37
8.	Andy Flower	Zimbabwe	776	52.30
9.	Inzamam-ul-Haq	Pakistan	764	47.05
10.	Jacques Kallis	South Africa	760	46.91

Top ten bowlers
1.	Muttiah Muralitharan	Sri Lanka	918	23.38
2.	Glenn McGrath	Australia	912	21.76
3.	Shaun Pollock	South Africa	883	20.72
4.	Shane Warne 6	Australia	762	26.5
5.	Darren Gough	England	724	27.57
6.	Anil Kumble	India	716	27.55
7.	Harbhajan Singh	India	706	27.98
8.	Waqar Younis	Pakistan	702	22.94
9.	Chris Cairns	New Zealand	699	28.9
10.	Saqlain Mushtaq	Pakistan	692	28.86

Mail Cricket Editor