Samuels jumps to sixth spot in ICC rankings

Dubai, Dec 11 (IANS) West Indies batsman Marlon Samuels continued to make rapid movement in the ICC T20 International player rankings, reaching sixth spot in the latest list released Tuesday.

In the rankings, which were released after the one-off match between Bangladesh and the West Indies in Dhaka, Samuels moved up 13 places to sixth position with a career-best ratings point of 723. Samuels was declared the man of the match for his 43-ball 85 not out as the World T20 champions won by 18 runs.

Samuels has also moved up four places in the bowling charts to 56th, while a combination of his batting and bowling exploits have helped him climb seven places to share third spot in the all-rounders’ category with team-mate Chris Gayle.

While Gayle has moved up two places to third in the all-rounders’ category, he has slipped one place to third in the batsmen list. New Zealand’s Brendon McCullum continues to hold the number-one position.

The other major mover in the batting table was Bangladesh opener Tamim Iqbal, who struck an unbeaten 88 in his side’s unsuccessful run chase. Tamim has moved up 19 places to 26th while Bangladesh vice-captain Mahmudullah, who remained unbeaten on 66, has moved up 36 places to 101st spot.

There is no major change bowlers standings, although Abdur Razzak has slipped one position to 11th while an injured Shakib Al Hasan has dropped three places to share 16th position with England’s T20 captain Stuart Broad.

The table is still headed by Pakistan’s Saeed Ajmal, followed by England off-spinner Graeme Swann in second place and Ajantha Mendis in the third spot.

IANS 2012-12-11 19:24:08