The three top bowlers in current Test cricket have all enhanced their PwC Ratings after the recent victories of South Africa and Australia. Shaun Pollock and Allan Donald remain at numbers 1 and 2 respectively, but both have reached their highest points level ever. Glenn McGrath also gained over 30 points, and remains third.

Meanwhile, Shoaib Akhtar currently sits at 39th in the bowling list for Test players. He may be fast, but statistically at least there is little to justify Wasim Akram's claim at the start of the series that Akhtar is the "best bowler in the world".

Steve Waugh has dropped to second in the batting behind Sachin Tendulkar. Meanwhile Ponting and Langer are 13th and 14th, both of them at personal bests in the Test ratings. Both are behind Andy Flower whose fighting century against Sri Lanka lifted him to 12th, also a personal best.

IS POLLOCK THE BEST BOWLER IN CURRENT WORLD CRICKET?

Many are asking this question at the moment. For a bowler to be the 'best' (whatever that means), then in modern cricket he has to be performing well in One Day Internationals as well as Tests.

What is notable is that Pollock is currently number one in the PwC Ratings for Test cricket AND the PwC Ratings for ODIs. In as far as a statistic can ever be used to say a player is best, then the ratings are certainly saying it of Pollock now.