Dravid rises in rankings, England on course for top spot

Rahul Dravid, one of the few Indian batsmen who have succeeded in the ongoing series against England, has risen to 11th place in the latest International Cricket Council (ICC) Test rankings.

Dravid, who made his second consecutive Test match hundred of the series, has gained four places since last week and is on the verge of breaking back into the top 10. The 38-year-old is enjoying his best batting rating since India's last Test series in England in 2007. There are already three India batsmen in the top 10, with Sachin Tendulkar (third), V.V.S. Laxman (ninth) and Virender Sehwag (10th).

England's Ian Bell has broken into the top five after recording a career-high batting rating following his brilliant 159 against India at Trent Bridge.

Bell, who recorded his fourth century in the space of six Test matches, has recorded a new career-high rating and is just 16 rating points behind England and county teammate Jonathan Trott, who has slipped two places in the rankings to fourth position.

Matt Prior (21st), Stuart Broad (44th) and Tim Bresnan (joint 75th) have also achieved new career-high rankings following England's 319-run victory which gave them a 2-0 lead in the four-match series.

And Broad's all-round heroics have seen him climb to third in the all-rounder rankings, while he has also jumped to the seventh place on the bowling table following match figures of 8-76.

However, it is not all good news for England's batsmen, as Alastair Cook has slipped six places to 11th position following a disappointing series in which he has made just 20 runs in four innings.

Bresnan has risen 14 places in the bowling rankings, following his first five-wicket Test haul, to put him 25th on the list, while his innings of 90 in the second innings has helped him rise to 13th in the all-rounder standings.

England are now on course to take the top spot in the team rankings. A series win of two clear Tests in the four-match series (2-0 or 3-1) will see Andrew Strauss's men topple India as the number-one Test side in the world. The table is updated only at the end of each series.

Batsmen rankings:

1 Jacques Kallis SA
2 Kumar Sangakkara SL
3 Sachin Tendulkar Ind
4 Jonathan Trott Eng
5 Ian Bell Eng
6 Shivnarine Chanderpaul WI
7 Thilan Samaraweera SL
8 AB de Villiers SA
9 VVS Laxman Ind
10 Virender Sehwag Ind

Bowlers:

1 Dale Steyn SA
2 James Anderson Eng
3 Morne Morkel SA
4 Graeme Swann Eng
5 Zaheer Khan Ind
6 Mitchell Johnson Aus
7 Stuart Broad Eng
8 Ishant Sharma Ind
9 Shakib Al Hasan Ban
10 Chris Tremlett Eng