ICC takes over player ratings

The International Cricket Council announced that it has secured backing for its Test and One-day Championships, and that from now on it will also be responsible for the player ratings previously known as the PwC Ratings.

The ICC has signed a deal with LG Electronics, an Asian-based consumables conglomerate, to sponsor both the championships and the ratings.

"Since the introduction of the ICC Test Championship in May 2001 it has been our ambition to complement this with an ongoing championship table for one-day international cricket and official player rankings," said Malcolm Speed, the ICC's chief executive, at the launch in New Delhi. "The ICC ODI Championship was introduced in October 2002 and today's announcement means that due to the support of LG we now have a full suite of official rankings."

While the Test and ODI Championships have been under the ICC umbrella since their inception, the PwC ratings, while unofficial, have been regarded as the benchmark by which the best players are assessed since they were launched in 1987.

"These player rankings have been tried and tested over many years," said Sourav Ganguly. "It is excellent news that they have now been officially recognised by the ICC and LG."

There are six different tables in the LG ICC Player Rankings for batsmen, bowlers and allrounders in Test match and one-day international cricket. The top Test batsman is Rahul Dravid while the top Test bowler is Glenn McGrath.

Full details of the LG ICC Test Championship, the LG ICC One-Day International Championship and the LG ICC Player Rankings can be found on the official ICC website www.icc-cricket.com.