Ponting edges closer to history, stretching his lead at the top of the LG ICC Player Rankings

Australia captain now has Bradman in his sights; Hoggard becomes England’s top-ranked bowler; Collingwood moves into top 20 batsmen for first time.

Australia captain Ricky Ponting has moved up to joint-third in the all-time LG ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen after yet another outstanding performance.

Having scored 142 and 49 in the second Test at Adelaide that finished today (Tuesday), Ponting moved up from sixth in the list, past England’s Peter May and level with another great England batsman Jack Hobbs.

Ponting’s century at the Adelaide Oval was his 33rd in Tests and his eighth in his last nine matches. He now needs two more before the end of 2006 to equal Mohammed Yousuf’s record of nine in a calendar year, set just last week. The 31-year-old Tasmanian also needs two to equal Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 35 Test centuries in a career.

Lying just three ratings points behind Len Hutton, Ponting can move up to second spot with another stellar performance in the third Test at the WACA that begins on 14 December.

If he does that, then Ponting will only be bettered by perhaps the greatest cricketer of them all, Donald Bradman, whose high of 961 ratings points has stood as a record for nearly six decades.

When Bradman reached that figure, he had just finished a series against India in 1947/48, during which he scored 715 runs at an average of 178.75.

The all-time top ten LG ICC Player Ratings for Test batsmen list is:

Rank Player Rating

In normal circumstances, Ponting could expect to be a long way clear of his nearest rival in the ratings for current players. However, with Pakistan’s Mohammed Yousuf in the middle of a real purple patch of form it means Ponting is just nine ratings points ahead.

The two run machines are, in turn, a further 51 points clear of the third placed batsman in the current list, India captain Rahul Dravid.

In those latest LG ICC Player Rankings, hard-hitting England batsman Kevin Pietersen has moved up one place to fourth overall in the batting list – his highest to date – following his first innings 158 in the Adelaide Test.

Australian Michael Hussey has moved to sixth place – also a career best – at the expense of West Indies captain Brian Lara.

One of the biggest movers is England middle-order batsman Paul Collingwood, whose maiden Test double-century has sent him shooting up 16 places on the LG ICC Player Rankings to 13th spot. It is the first time the Durham player has made it into the top 20.

There are also career batting highs for Ian Bell (24th) and Brett Lee (88th) following the second Ashes Test.

Despite England’s defeat in Adelaide, Matthew Hoggard has moved up three places to fifth in the current LG ICC Player Rankings for Test bowlers following his impressive individual performance.

The Yorkshire bowler took 7-109 and 1-29 to become the highest ranked England bowler, ahead of Andrew Flintoff.

Muttiah Muralidaran remains top of the list while Glenn McGrath slips down a place to third with South Africa’s Makhaya Ntini moving up to second. Leg-spinner Shane Warne stays fourth.

The news is far from positive for England fast bowler Steve Harmison, who continues his fall down the rankings. Another disappointing match for the 28-year-old means he has dropped another four places to 19th on the list, his lowest ranking since 2003.

It is also the first time that Australian batsman Damien Martyn has dropped out of the top 20 since 2004. He slips six places to 22nd position