Jayasuriya bids farewell in style by improving his ICC ranking

Dubai, Dec 8 (UNI) Ace Sri Lankan batsmen Sanath Jayasuriya signed off from the Test arena earlier this week on a high, gaining ground in the LG ICC Test player rankings.

The southpaw scored 10 and 78 in his team's 88-run victory over England in the first Test in Kandy. His performance helped lift him three places to 46th in the ICC player rankings for Test batsmen.

And his final listing in the rankings sees only three compatriots --Kumar Sangakkara (first), Mahela Jayawardena (12th) and Tillekeratne Dilshan (37th)-- ahead of him.

The 39-year-old charismatic player from Matara finished his 110-Test career as Sri Lanka's leading run-scorer with 6,973, a tally that includes 14 centuries and a top score of 340, made against India in Colombo in August 1997.

At the time, that triple century helped him to fourth place in the player rankings for Test batsmen and it turned out to be the highest batting ranking of his Test career.

Surprisingly, despite being a scourge for his opponents, that was the only year in which Jayasuriya found a place in the 10 top batsmen.

Jayasuriya, who also took 1-37 in the Kandy Test, retired in 39th spot in the player rakings for Test bowlers. The highest bowling ranking he enjoyed during his Test career was 22nd, achieved after the Galle Test against Zimbabwe in January 2002.

In the Test all-rounders list, Jayasuriya was a regular in the top five between 2001 and 2005, reaching third for a period.

Sanath Jayasuriya's career-rankings at a glance: Current batting ranking: 46th Highest batting ranking: 4th (August 1997 v India) Highest rating: 770 points Current bowling ranking: 39th Highest bowling ranking: 22nd (January 2002 v Zimbabwe) Highest rating: 395 points UNI