ICC Ranks England, Morgan, Mendis, Watson As Number One In T20

ICC Ranks England, Morgan, Mendis, Watson As Number One In T20

L-R: David Richardson, Mahela Jayawardene and Mohammad Hafeez pictured with a chart displaying the current Twenty20 International team rankings

©International Cricket Council

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has expanded its player and team rankings to include Twenty20 Internationals, revealing the first rankings which place England on top.

The reigning ICC World Twenty20 champions - and top Test-ranked side - hold a narrow one-point lead over Sri Lanka and the list is completed by New Zealand, South Africa, India, Australia, Pakistan, the West Indies, Afghanistan and Zimbabwe.

"The ICC is delighted to announce the team and player rankings for Twenty20 international cricket," ICC General Manager - Cricket, David Richardson said.

"The launch of T20I rankings will generate even more interest in the shortest format and will help to give more context to bilateral T20Is.

"Despite the fact that not as many T20Is have been played as Tests or ODIs, the ICC believes these rankings add context to nation versus nation contests in the shortest of cricket’s three vibrant international formats."

The player rankings have also been released with Eoin Morgan leading the ICC batting rankings, Ajantha Mendis the bowling rankings and Shane Watson the rankings for the all-rounders.

However, Cricket World has opened up the debate over on the blog about where Mendis should rightfully be ranked - due to the fact that he has played just one of Sri Lanka's Twenty20 Internationals in the last year.

Have your say and check out our own Most Valuable Player rankings

© Cricket World 2011