Sport

Lara holds down third spot

FILE - Brian Lara

LONDON, ENGLAND, CMC

WEST INDIES STAR Brian Lara has retained his number three spot in the world cricket rankings behind Australian Ricky Ponting and South African Jacques Kallis.

There are three other West Indies players in the batting top-30 ­ captain Shivnarine Chanderpaul at 12th, Chris Gayle (27th) and Ramnaresh Sarwan (28th).

Australia's Glen McGrath has also retained his number one spots after the latest adjustments from the second Test between India and Pakistan in Faisalabad.

Fast bowler McGrath is stalked by Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan with leg-spinner Shane Warne listed as third, as Australian bowlers occupy two of the top three spots.

In the batting ratings, India's captain Rahul Dravid and Pakistan's skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq, who both scored first innings centuries for their teams in the drawn high-scoring Faisalabad test, have elevated themselves one place in the ratings.

Dravid is up to fourth and Inzamam is fifth, while India's Younis Khan, who smashed 83 and 194 in the game, is the biggest mover in the top-10, climbing two places up to eighth.

On the bowling list, England's Andrew Flintoff, and other pacers Makhaya Ntini (South African) and Sri Lankan Chaminda Vaas, all moved up one place to fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively.

Corey Collymore, at 20th, and his Barbadian pace partner Pedro Collins (27th), are the only West Indians in the top 30 on the bowlers' list.

World Cricket Rankings:

BATTING

1 Ricky Ponting (AUS)

2 Jacques Kallis (SA)

3 Brian Lara (WI)

4 Rahul Dravid (IND)

5 Inzamam-ul-Haq (PAK)

6 Matthew Hayden (AUS)

7 Virender Sehwag (IND)

8 Younis Khan (PAK)

9 Mohammad Yousuf (PAK)

10 Marcus Trescothick (ENG)

12th Shivnarine Chanderpaul (WI)

27th Chris Gayle (WI)

28th Ramnaresh Sarwan (WI)

BOWLING

1 Glenn McGrath (AUS)

2 Muttiah Muralitharan (SL)

3 Shane Warne (AUS)

4 Andrew Flintoff (ENG)

5 Makhaya Ntini (SA)

6 Chaminda Vaas (SL)

7 Shoaib Akhtar (PAK)

8 Andre Nel (SA)

9 Shaun Pollock (SA)

10 Matthew Hoggard (ENG)

20th Corey Collymore (WI)

27th Pedro Collins (WI)

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