Cricket: Sangakkara jumps Tendulkar as best

Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara has regained the top spot from India's Sachin Tendulkar in the ICC player rankings for test batsmen.

The top order batsman scored an impressive 150 against the West Indies in his side's drawn match at R Premadasa stadium in Colombo.

The 33-year-old's 24th test century, which came off 216 balls and included 12 fours and one six, lifted the Sri Lankan back to the top of the rankings and forced Tendulkar into second place.

Joining Sangakkara in the top 10 are two rising batsmen in South Africa's AB de Villiers, the current ICC ODI Player of the Year, and England's Jonathan Trott. Both players have entered the top 10 of the test batsmen rankings for the first time.

Ross Taylor is the best ranked New Zealander in 18th spot, followed by Brendon McCullum in 25th.

De Villiers had a strong first innings with the bat against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi scoring a record-breaking 287 not out to move up eight places to fifth, while Trotts 29 and 135 not out against Australia in the first Ashes test in Brisbane has seen the 29-year-old right-handed batsman rise to eighth position.

In the player rankings for test bowlers, India's Zaheer Khan has risen to number three in the world, his highest ranking to date after figures of 4-90 against New Zealand in the second test match at Hyderabad.

Australia's hat-trick hero Peter Siddle and England's Steven Finn have both climbed the rankings at the conclusion of the first Ashes test.

Siddle has risen to 14th after claiming 6-144 in the first test at the Gabba, while ICC Young Player of the Year Finn has broken into the top 20 in 19th place after his six-wicket-haul.

The top ranked New Zealand test bowler is Daniel Vettori in 13th place. The New Zealand skipper is also ranked the second best all-rounder behind South African Jacques Kallis.

- AAP