Ross Taylor, Simon Katich, Mitchell Johnson and Doug Bollinger on the charge

New Zealand slips behind Pakistan after losing both Tests against Australia

Michael Clarke and Ricky Ponting, the mainstay of Australia's batting line-up, have both dropped in the latest Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen which were released on Thursday, a day after the conclusion of the second and last Test in Hamilton.

Clarke, who had number-one ranked Virender Sehwag firmly within his sights before the start of the Test as just 16 ratings points separated the two batsmen, has dropped to fifth position after his contributions of 28 and 63.

Clarke's gap with Sehwag has also opened to 29 ratings points which reflects the close fight at the top as the Australia vice-captain has slipped three places after conceding only 13 ratings points.

Clarke's fall has moved South Africa's Hashim Amla back to second place with an opportunity to snatch the number-one position from Sehwag when he faces the West Indies in the three-Test series which starts in Kingston, Jamaica, on 10 June.

Ponting, who scored 22 and six in Hamilton, has dropped out of the top 15 after slipping six places to 16th position. When the Tasmanian takes the field against Pakistan at Lord's on 13 July, he'll be trying to avoid to drop to 20th position, his lowest-ranking in eight years which he had achieved against the same opposition after the Sydney Test in January.

However, the good news for Australia is opener Simon Katich has continued to head in the right direction. The left-handed opener has moved up two places to achieve his career-best 13th position after scoring 88 and 106 in the Test which Australia won by 176 runs.

Katich had entered the series in 19th position and after his series contribution of 291 runs he has gained six valuable places. He is now the second highest-ranked Australia batsman after Clarke.

Also on the charge is New Zealand batsman Ross Taylor who has jumped six places to occupy 10th position. Taylor scored 138 and 22 in Hamilton.

In the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for Test bowlers, Australia's Mitchell Johnson has bounced back strongly after a disappointing first Test in Wellington to jump three places and regain second position, which he had first achieved last year in March in Durban against South Africa.

The left-arm fast bowler, who took 10 wickets in Hamilton, had slipped two places to fifth position after managing just one wicket in the first Test.

Johnson's team-mate Doug Bollinger is also on the move upwards and has achieved a career-best 15th position after climbing four places following his figures of 3-57 and 2-87.

In the Reliance Mobile ICC Test Championship, Australia has narrowed the gap with second-placed South Africa to just one ratings point. However, New Zealand has joined Pakistan on 80 ratings points but falls below Pakistan in seventh position after the ratings were calculated beyond the decimal point.

Katich, Shakib and Bollinger achieve career-best rankings while Cook returns to top 20

Australia's Michael Clarke has jumped to second place in the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen after stroking his 14th career century in his side's 10-wicket win over New Zealand in Wellington on Tuesday.

Clarke, who hit a masterly 168, has jumped four places and now sits behind India's Virender Sehwag whom he trails by just 17 ratings points.

Another good performance by the 28-year-old from New South Wales in the second Test starting in Hamilton from Saturday will potentially give him the number-one position which he first achieved during the Ashes series in England last year.

Clarke's team-mates Simon Katich and Marcus North, and New Zealand wicketkeeper-batsman Brendon McCullum have also improved their rankings after impressive performances in the Wellington Test.

Katich has achieved his career-best ranking of 15th after contributions of 79 and 18 not out, North has jumped seven places to 46th position after hitting a fine 112 while McCullum has climbed four places to 31st spot after an entertaining 104 in the second innings.

New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori, who scored 46 and 77, has also moved up two places to 27th position but Michael Hussey's recent slide continues and he has now dropped out of top 20. Hussey scored four runs in his only outing and has consequently slipped four places to 21st spot.

In Dhaka, England captain Alastair Cook's century in the second innings which gave his team a nine-wicket victory over Bangladesh has helped him return to the top 20. The left-hander has jumped three places to become England's only batsman in that elite group.

Kevin Pietersen has also made an upward movement following scores of 45 and 74 not out. The Hampshire batsman has gained three places to occupy 23rd spot.

For Bangladesh, Tamim Iqbal has continued to move up the ladder. The left-handed opener has now climbed four places to sit in 33rd spot after scores of 85 and 52.

Captain Shakib Al Hasan led his side by example when he not only scored 49 and 96 but also took four wickets in the match. For these achievements, he has been rewarded with a jump of nine places which puts him in 37th batting spot which he shares with his team-mate Mushfiqur Rahim, while he has been given a jump of three places in the bowling chart which puts him in a career-best 12th position.

Shakib's all-round performance has allowed him to gain one place in the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for Test all-rounders. He has swapped places with England's Graeme Swann and now sits in third position.

In the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for Test bowlers, Australia's Doug Bollinger has achieved a career-best 20th position. The left-arm fast bowler took 7-108 which gave him a lift of 11 places.

However, Bollinger's team-mate Mitchell Johnson was not that successful in the series and has, therefore, dropped two places to fifth position.

In the Reliance Mobile ICC Test Championship table, England's 2-0 win has earned it one ratings point while Bangladesh has conceded two ratings points but the overall positions remain the same.

Mushfiqur is now the second highest-ranked wicketkeeper-batsman after Dhoni

Graeme Swann's maiden 10-wicket haul has made him the first England bowler in six years to rise to second position in the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for Test bowlers.

The 30-year-old off-spinner recorded match figures of 78.3-19-217-10 to bowl England to a 181-run victory over Bangladesh in Chittagong which gave his side a 1-0 lead in the two-Test series.

For this marvelous achievement, the Nottinghamshire bowler was not only declared the man of the match but has also been rewarded with a jump of three places in the rankings. This makes him the first England bowler to claim second position in the bowling table since Steve Harmison achieved it in December 2004.

Swann's progress towards the top is even more remarkable considering the fact that he was in 23rd position only eight months ago. During this period, he has played 10 Tests and has claimed 45 wickets, including 14 against Australia and 21 against South Africa. These good performances against higher-ranked opponents have helped him considerably to continue an upward movement.

In addition to this, Swann's current total of 783 points puts him in 28th position in the all-time England Test bowlers list. Furthermore, the last English spinner to have more points was Derek Underwood back in 1977 while the last English off-spinner with more points was Fred Titmus in 1965.

Since then, England has played more than half of its total number of 896 Tests and only Titmus (maximum 797 ratings points) and Jim Laker (maximum 897 ratings points) have reached higher points than Swann among English off-spinners. Among the modern day off-spinners, John Emburey reached 584 ratings points while current England selector Geoff Miller achieved 523 ratings points in 1979.

Swann has played a total of 17 Tests in which he has taken 79 wickets. As such, he is still in the qualification period for bowlers as a bowler qualifies for a full rating when he reaches 100 Test wickets.

This means he could potentially edge closer or even overtake number-one-ranked Dale Steyn of South Africa depending on how he performs in the second Test in Dhaka, which starts on 20 March. From the Chittagong Test alone, he earned 51 ratings points.

While there is good news for Swann, the bad news for his team-mate, Stuart Broad, is he has dropped out of the top 10. Broad took 3-135 in the match and consequently slipped three places to 11th spot.

Despite its defeat, there is some positive and encouraging news for Bangladesh.

Captain Shakib Al Hasan has climbed to 15th position by improving his ranking by three places following his match figures of 5-195 and Mushfiqur Rahim has become the second highest-ranked wicketkeeper-batsman after India's Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen.

Mushfiqur, who scored 79 and 95 in a lost cause, has rocketed 12 places to jump to a career-best 34th position, seven places and 78 ratings points behind the India captain.

The 21-year-old from Bogra is, however, ahead of more experienced and established wicketkeeper-batsmen in the likes of New Zealand Brendon McCullum and Australia's Brad Haddin, who share 35th spot, Pakistan's Kamran Akmal (38th), South Africa's Mark Boucher (39th), England's Matt Prior (43rd), Sri Lanka's Prasanna Jayawardena (57th) and the West Indies' Denesh Ramdin (69th).

Besides Mushfiqur, opener Tamim Iqbal has climbed three places to 37th spot after scores of 86 and four while middle-order batsman Junaid Siddique has vaulted 12 places to 60th position after scores of seven and 106.

For England, captain Alastair Cook has climbed five places to 23rd spot and Paul Collingwood has moved to 22nd position after improving his ranking by one place. Kevin Pietersen, however, has slipped one place to 26th spot.

The batting table is headed by India's Virender Sehwag while Hashim Amla of South Africa is in second place.

In the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for all-rounders, Swann has moved to third position while Shakib has dropped to fourth spot.

Meanwhile, New Zealand and Australia go head to head in the two-Test series in Wellington from Friday with both the sides aiming to retain their current positions.

Australia presently sits in third place on 118 ratings points while New Zealand leads seventh-placed Pakistan by just one ratings point.

If Australia wins both Tests, New Zealand will drop behind Pakistan while in case of a drawn series Australia will join Sri Lanka on 115 ratings points but will be ranked behind Kumar Sangakkara's side when the ratings are calculated beyond the decimal point.

New Zealand v Australia schedule:

19-23 Mar - First Test, Wellington

27-31 Mar - Second Test, Hamilton

Mitchell Johnson returns to the top 10; Tim Southee also on the move

Chris Gayle rises to fourth position while Ross Taylor is back into the top 20

West Indies fast bowlers Darren Sammy, Dwayne Bravo and Kemar Roach have all achieved career-best rankings in the Reliance Mobile ICC ODI Player Rankings.

Sammy, Bravo and Roach shared 23 wickets between them in the series against Zimbabwe which the West Indies won 4-1 and have been rewarded with big jumps in the latest rankings which were released on Monday at the end of New Zealand-Australia and West Indies-Zimbabwe ODI series which concluded on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.

Sammy, who took eight wickets in the series, has vaulted 37 places to share 20th spot with Bangladesh's Abdur Razzak, Bravo has jumped 20 places to occupy 24th spot after picking up seven wickets while Roach has rocketed 23 places to sit in 80th position after snapping up eight wickets in the series.

Australia fast bowler Mitchell Johnson, who won the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy after being named as the 2009 ICC Cricketer of the Year at the LG ICC Awards in Johannesburg, has also returned to the top 10 after a stellar performance against New Zealand.

The 28-year-old Queenslander took 12 wickets in the series against New Zealand which has helped him lift four places to 10th position. Johnson now becomes Australia's highest-ranked bowler after Doug Bollinger slipped two places to 14th spot after managing just four wickets in five ODIs.

New Zealand's Tim Southee is also on the move and after his six wickets in the series, including 4-36 in the final match of the series in Wellington, he has climbed 15 places to a career-best 38th position.

Southee's team-mate Shane Bond, who bagged nine wickets against Australia, has swapped places with fellow New Zealander Kyle Mills who missed the series with shoulder and knee injuries. A player misses one per cent of his ratings for every match he misses, and as such, fifth-placed Bond has taken a 17-point lead over Mills and is just seven points behind fourth-placed Nuwan Kulasekara of Sri Lanka.

Apart from Bollinger, other bowlers who have slipped in the latest rankings include Ray Price of Zimbabwe in third spot (down by one place) and Australia off-spinner Nathan Hauritz in 17th spot (down by one place).

In the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for ODI batsmen, the West Indies captain Chris Gayle has continued his upward movement and has leapfrogged India great Sachin Tendulkar into fourth position.

Gayle, who was in seventh position at the start of the month, was in sublime form in the series in which he scored 273 runs, including three half-centuries.

New Zealand's middle-order batsman Ross Taylor has also returned to the top 20 after improving his ranking by four places. He is now in 18th position after scoring 177 runs in the series.

Blackcap Scott Styris, who was the pick of the batsmen in the series with 199 runs, has climbed three places to 37th position while second-ranked Michael Hussey has narrowed the gap with India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni to just eight points after finishing as the second most successful batsman with 198 runs.

The batsmen slipping in the table are Shivnarine Chanderpaul of the West Indies and Brendon McCullum of New Zealand. Both have dropped one place each to ninth and 19th positions, respectively.

There is no change in the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for ODI all-rounders with Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan still leading the field.

Meanwhile, the positions in the Reliance Mobile ICC ODI Championship at the annual cut-off date of 1 April have also been confirmed with Australia finishing number-one and India claiming second place, 11 ratings points behind.

For their achievements, Australia will be presented with a cheque of US$175,000 while India will collect US$75,000. This will be in addition to US$175,000 which the India side will collect for claiming the top spot in the Reliance Mobile ICC Test Championship. South Africa, which finished second on the Test table, will receive US$75,000. The cheques presentation ceremony will take place in due course.

Australia fast bowler Ellyse Perry has returned to the top 10 of the Reliance Mobile ICC Women's ODI Rankings after inspiring her side to a 3-0 win over New Zealand in the Rose Bowl series.

The 19-year-old from New South Wales had series figures of 5-118 which has helped her climb three places to eighth spot.

Perry also had a successful Rose Bowl series in Australia in early February in which she had claimed 13 wickets in Australia's 5-0 win. Then, she was rewarded with a jump of 10 places. This means in the last eight Rose Bowl series matches, Perry has claimed 18 wickets and has jumped a total of 13 places which by all means is an excellent effort.

New Zealand's Aimee Watkins is the other bowler to improve her rankings as she has jumped two places to 12th spot after picking up two wickets in three matches. However, her team-mate Nicola Browne has slipped three places to 11th after recording figures of 0-33, 1-39 and 0-39.

Australia fast bowler Sarah Andrews, who announced her retirement from international cricket on Tuesday after playing in three Tests, 39 ODIS and 16 T20Is, signed off on her career in 10th place. The 28-year-old from New South Wales had bowling figures of 1-37, 1-47 and 1-30 in the series.

The bowling list is headed by India's Jhulan Goswami while Australia's Shelley Nitschke is in second position and Lisa Sthalekar, who took 5-35 in the third ODI, is in third spot.

There is plenty of movement in the latest batters' listing with Nitschke reclaiming her second position from Claire Taylor of England after a series aggregate of 170 runs that also included her maiden ODI century in the second match. The 33-year-old scored 113 off 130 balls with seven fours and four sixes to help Australia take an assailable 2-0 lead by reaching the victory target of 256 with six wickets and 15 balls to spare.

New Zealand trio of Sara McGlashan, Amy Satterthwaite and Suzie Bates may have ended up on the losing side but they have managed to improve their rankings with Satterwaite and Bates returning to the top 20.

McGlashan has jumped three places to share 11th spot with Sri Lanka's Dedunu Silva after scores of nought, 34 and 46, Satterthwaite has lifted five places to 18th position after scoring 90 runs in the series while Bates has occupied 18th position after rising three places following scores of eight, 61 and 15.

The batting chart is headed by Mithali Raj of India.