November 30, 2007	Friday	Ziqa’ad 19, 1428

DUBAI, Nov 29: Second place in the ICC Test Championship is up for grabs over the next few weeks as no fewer than four teams could snatch that position, depending on how the India-Pakistan and Sri Lanka-England series pan out.

According to an ICC media release, England are the current occupiers of that rank but their place is under pressure with both India and Sri Lanka capable of overtaking it if they do well in their respective three-Test series.

And depending on results, even South Africa could sneak into the second spot ahead of their own Test series against the West Indies, which gets underway on Dec 26 in Port Elizabeth.

As the second Test between India and Pakistan, beginning on Friday in Kolkata, the home side are already 1-0 up in the series and could finish on 112 points, one more than England’s current tally if they win the series 3-0.

Michael Vaughan’s team have the chance to maintain their place behind leaders Australia provided they can prevail in its series, which begins on Saturday in Kandy.

Mahela Jayawardene and his men will know that a good showing could propel them from their current position of fifth to second. Such is the congested nature of the table that just six points separate England in second and Sri Lanka in fifth.

But no team can come close to knocking Australia off their perch as they are currently 32 points clear at the top.

There are opportunities too for individuals to make a mark on the ICC player rankings. Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara will be looking to continue his upward trend as he puts pressure on Australian captain Ricky Ponting and South Africa’s veteran Jacques Kallis at the top of the rankings for Test batsmen.

Sangakkara is enjoying his highest rating to date and is just 17 points behind Ponting in top spot, who is a point clear of Kallis.

He currently lies in the sixth position, just two points behind Australia’s Michael Hussey and 19 points behind Pakistan’s Mohammad Yousuf.

There will also be opportunities for Jayawardene (12th), Paul Collingwood (16th) and Alistair Cook (17th) to reinforce their positions in the top 20.—Agencies