… Hafeez, Rampaul, Bishoo and Simmons also on the rise
PAKISTAN off-spinner Saeed Ajmal has broken into the top three of the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for ODI bowlers for the first time in his career.
The latest player rankings were released on Friday after the conclusion of West Indies and Pakistan ODI series in Guyana.
The 33-year-old from Faisalabad, who took six wickets in the series which Pakistan won by 3-2, has climbed 16 places and now sits in third position, just five points behind Zimbabwe’s left-arm spinner Ray Price.
Saeed’s rise means the top four spots are now occupied by spinners with New Zealand’s Daniel Vettori leading the field and England’s Graeme Swann sitting in fourth position.
Saeed’s jump also means he has now become Pakistan’s highest-ranked bowler with captain Shahid Afridi dropping out of the top 10 after a disappointing series by his high standards. Shahid, who managed just two wickets, has slipped five places to 14th position.
Saeed’s fellow off-spinner Mohammad Hafeez has also improved his ranking after claiming six wickets in the series at 23.50. The 30-year-old from Sargodha has moved up seven places and now occupies 27th position.
The West Indies bowlers have also made good progress in the latest rankings with fast bowler Ravi Rampaul and wrist-spinner Devendra Bishoo heading in the right direction.
Rampaul, the 26-year-old Trinidadian, claimed eight wickets in three matches and has been rewarded with a jump of 15 places which has put him in 29th position.
The 25-year-old Bishoo, who finished as the leading wicket-taker in the series with 11 wickets, has rocketed 114 places and now sits just outside the top 100 in 116th position.
In the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for ODI batsmen, West Indies opener Lendl Simmons has rocketed 150 places to 67th position after finishing as the leading run-getter in the series with 279 runs at just under 70.
Hafeez, who was the second most successful batsman in the series with 267 runs, has improved his ranking by 17 places and is now in 49th position. Misbah-u-Haq’s series contribution of 184 runs has helped him move up three places to 31st spot while Umar Akmal has achieved a career-best ranking of 23rd after rising four places.
Hafeez’s all-round performance in the series has also helped him become the sixth-ranked all-rounder in the world. His 267 runs and six wickets in the series have helped him climb six places in the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for ODI all-rounders.
In the Reliance ICC ODI Championship table, Pakistan had started the series with a difference of 35 ratings points relative to West Indies. This gap had meant Pakistan was expected to win the series convincingly. As such, because the rankings are weighted to reflect this difference, Pakistan’s failure to win comfortably has meant it has dropped points.
Despite losing the series 3-2, the West Indies has earned four ratings points which puts it five points clear of ninth-ranked Bangladesh, while Pakistan has dropped three ratings points to open the gap with fifth-placed England by five points.
Pakistan’s next ODI commitment is a two-match series against Ireland in Belfast on May 28 and 30, while West Indies will play world champions India next in a five-match series at home in June.
Reliance ICC ODI Championship (as of May 6, after West Indies and Pakistan ODI series)

Rank     Team                          Rating

1.         Australia                      129

2.         India                            121

3.         Sri Lanka                     118

4.         South Africa                116

5.         England                       105

6.         Pakistan                      100

7.         New Zealand                94

8.         West Indies                  72

9          Bangladesh                  67

10.        Ireland                         42

11.        Zimbabwe                   37

12.        Netherlands                 10

13.        Kenya                          0

(Developed by David Kendix)