Bell hits new heights

Ian Bell is level with Sachin Tendulkar in the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings

England batsman Ian Bell’s innings of 199 in the drawn first npower Test against South Africa has seen him climb to 13th in the ICC rankings.

The right-hander’s Test-best sees him placed alongside India legend Sachin Tendulkar and means England now have three batsmen in the top 20 listings.

Highest-placed of the trio is Kevin Pietersen, whose 152 at Lord’s has seen him rise three spots to seventh position, his highest placing this year.

The other England player among that elite group is opener Andrew Strauss, slotting in at 17th in the list.

South Africa still retain the top ranked batsman among the two sides - Jacques Kallis in sixth position - but the gap between him and Pietersen is small and there is every chance of the two swapping places if they repeat their Lord’s performances in the second match, at Headingley Carnegie, starting on Friday.

Captain Graeme Smith, a centurion in the Lord’s Test with 107, is the other Proteas player among the top 20 batsmen, in 12th position, but he and Kallis could soon be joined by three team-mates.

Ashwell Prince, Neil McKenzie and Hashim Amla were all hundred-makers in London and they now sit in 21st, 24th and 26th positions respectively.

The batting list is still headed by Kumar Sangakkara of Sri Lanka, ahead of West Indies’ Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Mike Hussey of Australia and his captain Ricky Ponting, along with Mohammad Yousuf of Pakistan, the latter two sharing fourth position.

Fifth-placed bowler Ryan Sidebottom bowls sixth-placed batsman Jacques Kallis at Lord's

Dale Steyn missed an opportunity to topple Muttiah Muralitharan from the head of bowlers’ rankings.

Steyn started the Lord’s Test within touching distance of the peak after an outstanding run of form but figures of 1-117 means he has slipped back and is now only just clear of Australia’s Stuart Clark, who occupies third position.

Ryan Sidebottom remains England’s highest-placed bowler, climbing one position to fifth slot, overtaking Makhaya Ntini (0-130 at Lord’s) in the process.

Monty Panesar holds firm in eleventh place while Andrew Flintoff, recalled to the England squad for the second Test, may well have a chance to improve on his 19th spot.

Just outside that top 20, England’s James Anderson continues to climb, up four places to 22nd position while further down the list, South Africa quick Morne Morkel has broken into the top 50 for the first time, up 10 places to 46th place after taking 4-121.

In the all-rounder listing, Kallis remains top, clear of Daniel Vettori of New Zealand, but the South African may start to feel some pressure from third-placed Flintoff if the England man is selected in the final eleven for the Headingley Test.