Michael Clarke has regained the No.1 spot in the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen after producing a spectacular performance in the second Test between Australia and South Africa, which ended in a thrilling draw in Adelaide on Monday.
The 31-year-old Australian captain scored 230 in the first innings, his fourth double century of the year, which has earned him 33 ratings points and has helped him leapfrog Kumar Sangkkara of Sri Lanka and South African duo Hashim Amla and Jacques Kallis into the number one position.
This is the third time Clarke has moved to the top of the table. He first achieved the number one ranking in August 2009 and then again surged to the top earlier this year in March-April.
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Unfortunately, both the times his stay at the top has been brief — a possibility, which still exists as he leads Sangakkara by a slender 10 ratings point margin.
If Sangakkara manages to turn around the first innings failure into a strong performance in the second innings of the ongoing second Test against New Zealand in Colombo, he has a good chance to reclaim the coveted spot, which he snatched from Shivnarine Chanderpaul in July.