Donald and Tendulkar top new ODI Ratings

Donald and Tendulkar - who also top the PricewaterhouseCoopers Test Ratings - are rewarded for their recent outstanding performances in the One Day game.

Australian and NZ players prominent in top ten Michael Bevan, whose Test career for Australia has been mixed, is third in the ODI Ratings, making him the highest-rated Australian player. This reflects his fine batting record in the last year.

Ricky Ponting and Mark Waugh also appear in the list of top ten batsmen. However, Steve Waugh - rated third in the current PricewaterhouseCoopers Test Ratings - is just outside the top thirty in the ODI Ratings.

New Zealand is represented by Nathan Astle at 7th in the batting and Chris Harris at 9th in the bowling.

England's bowling stars feature highly Darren Gough and Angus Fraser, England's Test bowling stars this summer, both appear in the latest ODI top ten. Robert Croft's economic bowling is rewarded by him being placed 13th - 40 places higher than his position in the Test bowling ratings.

Alec Stewart and Graham Thorpe are England's highest rated batsmen at 18th and 19th in the batting, while Nick Knight is climbing rapidly and is now 28th.

Fast scorers boosted in ODI ratings

Batsmen who score their runs rapidly are given extra credit in the ratings. The best example is Sanath Jayasuriya of Sri Lanka, one of the fastest scoring batsmen in the world game, who is in fourth place. Jonty Rhodes also has a good rating, placed 17th in the batting.

Updates to the ODI Ratings

The ODI Ratings will be updated at the end of the Emirates Triangular Tournament, which is currently being played in the UK, and at appropriate times at the beginning and end of series throughout the winter.

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PricewaterhouseCoopers launches new World Ratings for One-Day cricket internationals

1998 PricewaterhouseCoopers is launching new world Ratings for One-Day Internationals. The global professional services firm has produced the World Ratings of Test Cricketers since 1987 and now, reflecting the growth and increased importance of the one-day game, cricket fans will have the chance to compare the world's best in the limited overs game.

Roger White, PricewaterhouseCoopers' UK director of marketing communications, said: ``We are entering one of the most exciting years in international cricket. Tomorrow sees the start of the Emirates Triangular Tournament, the first of its kind in this country, while over the next 12 months we will see one-day competitions around the cricketing world, culminating in the seventh World Cup, returning to England for the first time since 1983.

``The Ratings have become an accepted part of the Test match scene and we are certain that this is the perfect time to launch the one-day version. With our eleven years of Ratings experience we are confident that the new One-Day Ratings will become the accepted standard for evaluating individual performance.''

The Test Ratings are based on computer-based analysis of performance which goes beyond the traditional average. Performance in One-Day Internationals will get the same treatment - but with some subtle changes which reflect the differing demands of the shorter game.

Former England captain, Ted Dexter who has worked with PricewaterhouseCoopers since the World Test Ratings were introduced, said: ``The stars of the one-day game are not always those of Test cricket. In the first Ratings of one-day batsmen, Sachin Tendulkar is rated number one - just as he is in Test cricket. But Australia's Michael Bevan is in third place, reflecting his reputation as one of the most dangerous exponents of the one-day game. ``Bowlers also demand different treatment in the computer program. An analysis of 1 for 15 might not look special in a Test match, but it can win you a one-dayer. By publishing two separate Ratings we are recognising the increasing divergence between the different forms of the game and the way they are played.''

Roger White of PricewaterhouseCoopers said: ``Cricket is an increasingly global game and that fits the outlook of the firm. Similarly, the Ratings have always been about collecting and analysing information, so the parallel with our day-to-day work is easy to draw.

``Our association with the Test Ratings has been a happy and fruitful one for the firm. Now with one-day Ratings we are delighted to add a new dimension to the discussion and enjoyment of the game as a whole.''

The PricewaterhouseCoopers Ratings can be found at www.pwcglobal.com/cricket

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