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SYDNEY, Nov 8 (AFP): Australian leg-spin wizard Shane Warne has returned to the top of the International Cricket Council's (ICC) Test bowling rankings for the first time in 10 years, the ICC announced Tuesday.
Warne's haul of five wickets for 49 runs in the first Test against the West Indies last week in Brisbane lifted him above Aussie paceman Glenn McGrath to ap his best year in Test cricket for a decade, it said.
The 36-year-old Warne last topped the Test bowling rankings in December 1995 after a man-of-the-series performance against Pakistan and is now just six points off his best ever batting rating.
Australia captain Ricky Ponting's twin centuries in the two innings against the West Indies also helped him close the gap behind South Africa's Jacques Kallis to just three points in the latest ICC batting rankings, while wicket-keeper Adam Gilchrist moved up a place and back into the top 10.
The West Indies' out-of-form Brian Lara slipped three spots to fifth in the rankings.
The ICC Test Bowling top five: 1 - Shane Warne (AUS), 2 - Glenn McGrath (AUS), 3 - Muttiah Muralitharan (SRI), 4- Andrew Flintoff (ENG), 5 - Shaun Pollock (RSA).
The ICC Test Batsmen top five: 1 - Jacques Kallis (RSA), 2 - Ricky Ponting (AUS), 3 - Rahul Dravid (IND), 4 - Virender Sehwag (IND), 5 - Brian Lara (WIS).
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