The world's top two Test bowlers in the LG ICC Player Rankings, Muttiah Muralitharan and Makhaya Ntini, are set to go head-to-head during the two-Test series between Sri Lanka and South Africa beginning in Colombo on Friday.
Muralitharan currently tops the bowling list and the two-match clash gives him the chance to extend his advantage and also reduce the gap of 50 wickets between himself and leading Test wicket-taker Shane Warne.
But pace bowler Ntini, rested and raring to go after a break following an outstanding 2005/06 season, is breathing down Muralitharan's neck at the top of the rankings.
And if the South African can repeat the form that brought him 48 wickets in just eight Tests in 2005/06 then he has every chance of not only closing in on top spot but also helping his depleted side to a famous series win.
That, of course, will be easier said than done as South Africa is without its regular captain Graeme Smith and vice-captain Jacques Kallis, both injured, as well as all-rounder Shaun Pollock, who is missing the first Test after the birth of his second child.
How much of a hole that trio leaves is clearly illustrated by the LG ICC Player Rankings as Kallis (4th) and Smith (18th) are South Africa's only batsmen inside the top 20, while Pollock lies 12th in the bowling list and third in the all-rounder table, a table topped by Kallis.
In their absence, Herschelle Gibbs is the side's highest ranked batsman, in joint 25th place alongside injured England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff.
