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LONDON, Nov 27: West Indian batsman Brian Lara has returned to the top three in the world Test ratings at the expense of Australia’s Steve Waugh.
Lara climbs three places, knocking Australia captain Waugh out of the top three for the first time since April 1995.
The left-handed Lara, who has been dogged by a hamstring injury in recent months, made 337 runs in the two Tests against Sri Lanka although West Indies still lost both matches.
Waugh’s form has suffered recently and he was out for three in Australia’s first innings in the first Test against New Zealand and was lbw for nought in the second Test.
Sri Lanka’s in-form spinner Muttiah Muralitharan climbs to 902 points — the first time any Sri Lankan has been above 900.
Match-winner Muralitharan took six for 81 in the second innings against West Indies to go with his 4-54 in the first.
The ratings show three bowlers over 900 for the first time with Muralitharan joining Australia’s Glenn McGrath (911) and South Africa’s Shaun Pollock (909).
VOTE OF CONFIDENCE
COLOMBO: Brian Lara has been given a vote of confidence by West Indies captain Carl Hooper who believes the record-breaking batsman is vital to his team’s success.
Lara, who has been dogged by a hamstring injury in recent months, has recently been criticised as being past his best.
But Hooper said having Lara in the team was always a plus.
“Lara, whom people thought was past his best, is certainly showing that he is one of the best players there at the moment,” said Hooper.
“There were a lot of reports about him being a negative influence in the team. In my stint as captain, he has always been supportive of the younger players and I hope he continues to be so”.
In September former West Indies great Everton Weekes said he believed Lara’s career had been severely affected by injury, but Hooper stands by the Trinidadian who holds the record for the highest individual scores in Test and first-class cricket.
“It is a big plus for West Indies cricket in general. We can all look at Brian and take a leaf out of his book. He’s worked hard and dedicated himself and he’s had results on this tour,” Hooper said.—Reuters
