Proteas opening batsman, Alviro Petersen credits his rise up the ICC Test batting rankings to his hunger to contribute toward the team’s success, saying the Test squad’s dominance in the last year has aided his success. The right-hander moved to his highest career ranking of number 20, after his first innings century in the first Sunfoil Test match against New Zealand.
“We have been playing well as a Test unit this past year and I have been fortunate enough to contribute at crucial times,” Petersen said. “This past year has been about establishing myself in the Test XI and moving up the rankings is an added bonus for me.”
Peterson’s fifth career Test century came after a successful year on the road for the former bizhub Highveld Lion’s captain, who scored centuries against Sri Lanka at home and in New Zealand and England last year. He scored 815 runs at an average of 81.5.
“I had a great run last year and my goal this year will be to continue with the run-scoring but more importantly giving the team a good platform at the top of the innings with Graeme (Smith),” he said.
The Proteas boast three batsmen in the top 10, with Hashim Amla in third, Jacques Kallis in sixth and AB de Villiers in seventh. Proteas captain Graeme Smith is in 13th place, giving the No.1 ranked Proteas a strong presence.
Vernon Philander continues to gain ground on World No.1 Dale Steyn, with the seamer moving up 19 points after his Sunfoil man-of-the-match performance at Sahara Park Newlands. Robin Peterson moved up three places to 76th position.
Full ICC Rankings
Reliance ICC Test Player Rankings (as of 7 January after Cape Town and Sydney Tests)
Batsmen
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Ave HS Ranking
1 ( - ) Michael Clarke Aus 887 52.54 900 v SL at Melbourne 2012
2 ( - ) S.Chanderpaul WI 879 51.67 901 v NZ at Napier 2008
3 ( - ) Hashim Amla SA 878! 50.83 878 v NZ at Cape Town 2013
4 ( - ) K Sangakkara SL 842 55.80 938 v Eng at Kandy 2007
5 ( - ) Alastair Cook Eng 836 49.42 874 v Ind at Kolkata 2012
6 ( - ) Jacques Kallis SA 828 56.94 935 v NZ at Centurion 2007
7 ( - ) AB de Villiers SA 817 49.26 821 v Eng at The Oval 2012
8 ( - ) Ross Taylor NZ 777 43.57 785 v SL at Colombo (PSS) 2012
9 (+1) Younus Khan Pak 761 51.69 880 v SL at Lahore 2009
10 (+1) Kevin Pietersen Eng 759 49.42 909 v WI at Headingley 2007
11 (-2) Mike Hussey Aus 758 51.52 921 v WI at Kingston 2008
12 ( - ) Azhar Ali Pak 753! 45.27 753 v SL at Pallekele 2012
13 ( - ) Graeme Smith SA 730 49.25 843 v Eng at Johannesburg 2010
14 ( - ) Misbah-ul-Haq Pak 720 45.68 771 v Eng at Abu Dhabi 2012
15 ( - ) Jonathan Trott Eng 709 49.50 856 v SL at Cardiff 2011
16 ( - ) Matt Prior Eng 693 43.19 698 v Ind at Ahmedabad 2012
17 ( - ) Ian Bell Eng 680 46.71 822 v Ind at The Oval 2011
18 ( - ) Marlon Samuels WI 668! 37.36 668 v Ban at Khulna 2012
19 ( - ) Darren Bravo WI 661* 46.77 709 v Aus at Port-of-Spain 2012
20 (+11) Alviro Petersen SA 655*! 42.65 655 v NZ at Cape Town 2013
Selected Rankings
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Ave HS Ranking
22 (+2) M Jayawardena SL 652 49.56 883 v Ind at Ahmedabad 2009
24 (-4) T Samaraweera SL 629 48.76 775 v SA at Cape Town 2012
25 (+3) B McCullum NZ 620 35.52 673 v Pak at Hamilton 2011
27 (-2) David Warner Aus 614* 44.50 620 v SL at Melbourne 2012
29 (-7) Angelo Mathews SL 611 39.71 651 v Aus at Hobart 2012
31 (-4) T Dilshan SL 601 40.42 700 v Ind at Ahmedabad 2009
37 (-2) Kane Williamson NZ 570* 31.61 578 v SL at Colombo (PSS) 2012
38 ( - ) Shane Watson Aus 563 37.02 729 v Eng at Perth 2010
45 (+8) Phillip Hughes Aus 496* 36.25 599 v Eng at Lord's 2009
46 (+1) Faf du Plessis SA 494*! 102.66 494 v NZ at Cape Town 2013
47 (-2) Ed Cowan Aus 491* 32.81 507 v SL at Melbourne 2012
49 (+25) Dean Brownlie NZ 489*! 34.57 489 v SA at Cape Town 2013
51 (-9) Martin Guptill NZ 480 30.83 597 v WI at Kingston 2012
53 (+10) D Chandimal SL 476*! 40.55 476 v Aus at Sydney 2013
54 (+5) Matthew Wade Aus 464*! 42.41 464 v SL at Sydney 2013
63 (-3) Jacques Rudolph SA 417* 35.43 564 v Eng at Cape Town 2005
66 (-4) Daniel Flynn NZ 407 27.31 432 v Ind at Hamilton 2009
84 (-3) Mitchell Johnson Aus 331 22.62 477 v Eng at Lord's 2009
87 (+10) BJ Watling NZ 308* 28.71 323 v Zim at Napier 2012
96 (+22) L Thirimanne SL 286*! 23.73 286 v Aus at Sydney 2013
97 (+35) D Karunaratne SL 280*! 28.57 280 v Aus at Sydney 2013
Bowlers
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Ave HS Ranking
1 ( - ) Dale Steyn SA 876 23.68 902 v SL at Centurion 2011
2 ( - ) Vernon Philander SA 859*! 17.40 859 v NZ at Cape Town 2013
3 ( - ) Saeed Ajmal Pak 832 27.09 836 v SL at Galle 2012
4 (+1) Rangana Herath SL 809 29.95 838 v NZ at Colombo (PSS) 2012
5 (-1) Peter Siddle Aus 800 28.51 806 v SL at Hobart 2012
6 ( - ) James Anderson Eng 759 30.39 813 v Ind at Edgbaston 2011
7 ( - ) Graeme Swann Eng 755 29.13 858 v Pak at Lord's 2010
8 ( - ) Morne Morkel SA 747 29.86 776 v Aus at Cape Town 2011
9 ( - ) Pragyan Ojha Ind 739* 31.62 773 v Eng at Kolkata 2012
10 ( - ) Ben Hilfenhaus Aus 721* 28.50 757 v WI at Port-of-Spain 2012
11 ( - ) Abdur Rehman Pak 704* 28.40 739 v Eng at Dubai 2012
12 ( - ) Kemar Roach WI 698* 27.69 712 v NZ at Kingston 2012
13 ( - ) Stuart Broad Eng 657 31.93 783 v WI at Lord's 2012
14 ( - ) Shakib Al Hasan Ban 641 32.53 680 v WI at Mirpur 2011
15 ( - ) Zaheer Khan Ind 625 32.35 752 v SA at Durban 2010
16 (+1) Chris Martin NZ 612 33.81 669 v SA at Hamilton 2012
17 (-1) Steven Finn Eng 611* 28.22 621 v SA at Lord's 2012
18 ( - ) Mitchell Johnson Aus 600 30.63 825 v Eng at Cardiff 2009
19 ( - ) Umar Gul Pak 584 33.66 642 v Eng at Dubai 2012
20= ( - ) Tim Southee NZ 566* 35.04 572 v SL at Colombo (PSS) 2012
(+1) R Ashwin Ind 566* 32.41 595 v Eng at Ahmedabad 2012
Selected Rankings
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Ave HS Ranking
25 ( - ) Nathan Lyon Aus 526* 32.16 548 v SA at Adelaide 2012
39 (-1) Doug Bracewell NZ 430* 31.93 538 v WI at Kingston 2012
43 (+3) Mitchell Starc Aus 403*! 29.32 403 v SL at Sydney 2013
44 (+3) Trent Boult NZ 401*! 28.79 401 v SA at Cape Town 2013
47 (+40) Jackson Bird Aus 376*! 16.18 376 v SL at Sydney 2013
51 ( - ) James Franklin NZ 352* 33.97 679 v SL at Christchurch 2006
52 (-2) Jeetan Patel NZ 345* 46.78 368 v SL at Colombo (SSC) 2009
65 ( - ) T Dilshan SL 274*! 42.88 274 v Aus at Sydney 2013
76 (+3) Robin Peterson SA 202*! 33.80 202 v NZ at Cape Town 2013
80 (-4) D Prasad SL 185* 59.00 243 v Ban at Mirpur 2008
83 (-1) Michael Clarke Aus 169* 36.60 265 v NZ at Wellington 2005
84 (-2) Suranga Lakmal SL 165* 62.25 262 v Aus at Pallekele 2011
96 ( - ) Angelo Mathews SL 106* 70.45 110 v Pak at Colombo (SSC) 2009
98 (-1) Kane Williamson NZ 101* 53.00 138 v WI at Kingston 2012
109 (-1) Mike Hussey Aus 76* 43.71 140 v NZ at Hobart 2011
129 (+15) Nuwan Pradeep SL 22*! 157.66 22 v Aus at Sydney 2013
All-rounders
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts HS Ranking
1 ( - ) Jacques Kallis SA 399 616 v Pak at Durban 2002
2 ( - ) Shakib Al Hasan Ban 387 404 v Pak at Mirpur 2011
3 ( - ) Shane Watson Aus 308/* 394 v SA at Johannesburg 2011
4 ( - ) Daniel Vettori NZ 290 412 v Pak at Napier 2009
5 ( - ) Graeme Swann Eng 288 327 v Ban at Chittagong 2010