Mpumelelo Mbangwa, Zimbabwe's right-arm seamer, was a new entry in sixth place, with 24 wickets at an average of 21.83 in his last eight Test matches. The most recent Test included in the rankings was Zimbabwe's victory over Pakistan at Peshawar &mdash their first away win in a Test.
Mbangwa took 3 for 40 and 3 for 23 in that historic victory. The only other Zimbabwean bowler to feature in the chart is fast bowler Heath Streak, who is 18th. Streak was briefly ranked No 1 at the end of 1996.
Allan Donald of South Africa still leads the way for the bowlers, with 127 wickets at 19.81. Curtly Ambrose (21.097) lies second, just ahead of Australians Jason Gillespie (21.13) and Glenn McGrath (21.24). England's top bowler, Angus Fraser (7th) was dropped for the second and third Tests of the Ashes series, and their next representative Andy Caddick (14th) wasn't even picked for the tour. In the batting, Sri Lanka's Aravinda de Silva leads the way, with an average of 65.10, ahead of India's Navjot Sidhu (53.35) and another Sri Lankan, Sanath Jayasuriya (52.60).
The rankings are calculated like conventional averages, but use only recent form. Only performances in Test matches since September 1, 1996 are included.