Ajmal, Amla top ICC rankings

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Hashim Amla of South Africa in action against England.

Johannesburg – Pakistan off-spinner Saeed Ajmal has moved up two places to replace team-mate Mohammad Hafeez as the number-one ranked bowler in the ICC Player Rankings for ODI bowlers.

The latest ICC Player Rankings released on Thursday incorporate both the Pakistan-Australia and England-South Africa ODI series.

Saeed was the highest wicket-taker in the series against Australia. He picked up 10 wickets at an economy rate of 3.41, with an average of 9.9 in the series.

His overall rating of 759 is his career-best.

South Africa paceman Lonwabo Tsotsobe, who headed the bowlers' table before the two series began, is now ranked third.

Other bowlers dropping down the rankings include Morne Morkel in fifth (down by one), Steven Finn in sixth (down by one), Shahid Afridi in 19th (down by three), Tim Bresnan in 38th (down by six) and Sohail Tanvir in 56th (down by nine).

South Africa paceman Dale Steyn has re-entered the top 10 in the bowlers' table. He has moved up four places to 10th.

Steyn's team-mate Robin Peterson, who was the highest wicket-taker on either side in the series against England with seven wickets, has moved up 12 places to a career-best 29th. Peterson's overall rating of 575 is his career-best.

The other bowlers to make upward movements include Mitchell Johnson in 18th (up by one) Wayne Parnell in 44th (up by 16), Abdur Rehman in 61st (up by 12), Mitchell Starc in 76th (up by 55), Jade Dernbach in 79th (up by 10), Ravi Bopara in 80th (up by 27) and James Pattinson in 87th (up by 47).

South Africa's Hashim Amla, who was the highest run-maker on either side in the series against England with 335 runs, has consolidated his position as the number-one ranked batsman, followed by Virat Kohli in second position and AB de Villiers in third.

Amla's overall rating of 901 is the highest of his career and is the eighth best in history.

Jonathan Trott in fifth (up by two) and Michael Clarke in seventh (up by one) have also made gains in the top 10 of the latest batting table. Michael Hussey, meanwhile, is now 10th in the table, moving up four places.

The other batsmen to make upward movements include Eoin Morgan in 13th (up by five), Ian Bell in 32nd (up by five), Mohammad Hafeez in 42nd (up by one), Craig Kieswetter in 43rd (up by five), George Bailey in 49th (up by 21), Azhar Ali in 52nd (up by 21), Asad Shafiq in 55th (up by seven) and Nasir Jamshed in 78th (up by 35).

England captain Alastair Cook has moved down two places to eighth. The other batsmen losing ground include Jean-Paul Duminy in 22nd (down by three), Graeme Smith in 26th (down by five), Misbah-ul-Haq in 28th (down by one), David Hussey in 34th (down by two), David Warner in 36th (down by one), Shahid Afridi in 44th (down by two), Ravi Bopara in 49th (down by five) and Francois du Plessis in 73rd (down by 10).

The ICC Player Rankings for all-rounders is still headed by Bangladesh's Shakib Al Hasan.

Meanwhile, there has been no change in the Reliance ICC ODI Championship table, with England retaining the number-one position. England will hold the position until at least January 2013, when the team travels to India for a five-match ODI series.

AB de Villiers' South Africa sits in second place, despite being on equal points with England after the 2-2 series result. Ratings points are calculated to within the decimal point, and South Africa trails England by a mere 0.09 ratings point.

Australia's 2-1 series win over Pakistan has gained it one rating point to retain fourth position in the table. Pakistan stays at sixth after losing one rating point. – Sapa