England?s James Anderson has displaced India?s Zaheer Khan to claim third place in the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for Test bowlers.
The 28-year-old claimed six wickets in Adelaide and sits behind fellow England bowler Graeme Swann (second) while the table is headed by South Africa?s Dale Steyn. It is Anderson?s highest ranking to date.
Swann?s five-wicket haul in the second innings of the Adelaide Test has moved him to within 14 ratings points of Steyn, edging him closer to the top spot. A good performance in the Perth and Melbourne Tests could see Swann end the year in the number one position.
Meanwhile in the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen, Australia captain Ricky Ponting has slipped out of the top 20 for the first time since 2001. The Tasmanian has dropped 12 places to occupy 25th, his lowest ranking for nearly a decade.
Jonathan Trott has continued his rise up the batting rankings and is now occupying sixth place after scoring 78 in Adelaide during the second Ashes Test. The 29-year-old is the highest-ranked England batsman with the next closest being England vice-captain Alastair Cook who has climbed nine places to sit in 13th place.
England?s Kevin Pietersen has made a huge leap of 12 places, replacing Ponting in 16th position, the Surrey batsman?s mammoth innings of 227 in the Adelaide Test helping him to return to the top 20, a location he has not been since August.
Australia?s Mike Hussey has risen to 14th while West Indies opening batsman Chris Gayle has dropped five places to 19th after his team?s drawn series in Sri Lanka. However, Gayle?s team-mates Brendan Nash (43) and Darren Bravo (69) have both made in-roads on the Test batsmen?s rankings. Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara still heads the batting rankings with India?s Sachin Tendulkar in second place.
Australia?s Peter Siddle has slipped three places in the Test bowling rankings. The fast bowler claimed no wickets in the recently concluded second Ashes Test and has therefore dropped to 17th position. Sri Lanka?s Ragana Herath has moved up to 24th after the 32-year-old claimed 4-54 in the drawn match against West Indies in Pallekele.
There is no change at the top of the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for Test all-rounders with South Africa?s Jacques Kallis still leading the field. However, Australia?s Shane Watson has displaced England?s Stuart Broad for fourth place in the all-rounder?s rankings after the 29-year-old Queenslander scored 108 runs and claimed 1-44 during the second Ashes Test.