Vettori returns to top 5 in ICC Player Rankings

Dubai, Jan 1 (UNI) New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori was rewarded for his stellar performance against Bangladesh in the recently concluded one-day series as he returned to the top five of the ICC Player Rankings for ODI bowlers.

The 28-year-old left-armer claimed seven wickets in the series against Bangladesh, including five for seven in the last match, to jump three places to third spot.

Vettori's effort earned him 46 ratings points and put him above Australia's Nathan Bracken and Sri Lankan duo of Chaminda Vaas and Muttiah Muralitharan.

But the three bowlers will have a chance to reclaim their positions when they take part in the tri-series starting on February 3 with hosts Australia and India as the other two teams.

Vettori's team-mate Kyle Mills also benefitted from New Zealand's clinical performance against Bangladesh by earning his career-best ranking. The 29-year-old pacer is now placed at the ninth spot.

There was nothing to celebrate for Bangladesh as Abdur Razzak slipped six places to 20th position while Mashrafe Mortaza dropped nine places to 32nd spot.

The top 20 positions in LG ICC Player Rankings for ODI batsmen did not see any change but further down the list there were some upward movements.

New Zealand's Scott Styris climbed one place to 22nd position, Peter Fulton lifted three places to 27th spot while Brendon McCullum's hurricane 28-ball 80 in Queenstown earned him a promotion of ten places and puts him in 34th position.

McCullum's opening partner Jamie How jumped 38 places to 48th position after finishing as the leading run-getter in the series with 169. For Bangladesh, captain Mohammad Ashraful improved nine places to share 53rd place with Zimbabwe's Vusi Sibanda.

New Zealand's Jacob Oram excelled with bat and ball to return to the top five all-rounders' list. He climbed two places to join South Africa's Jacques Kallis in fifth position.

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