SACA Media Release - Standard Bank Rankings
Morne Morkel's match-winning 12-wicket haul for the Nashua Titans against the Gestetner Diamond Eagles has resulted in the fast bowler leaping to the top spot in the latest Standard Bank Rankings for the SuperSport Series which features on the South African Cricketers' Association (SACA) website. Morkel returned match figures of 12 for 91, which included a career best six for 43 in the Eagles' first innings, as he jumped from 12th on the rankings to first.
The Nashua Cape Cobras' left-arm spinner Claude Henderson moves up one place to second on the rankings after his seven wickets against the bizhub Highveld Lions helped his team to their first SuperSport Series win of the season.
Despite the Nashua Dolphins' loss to the Chevrolet Warriors over the weekend, Imraan Khan and wicketkeeper/leg-spinner Daryn Smit fill third and fourth place in the rankings respectively with Khan dropping from last week's number one ranking while Smit moves up five places from number eight.
Titans leg-spinner Imran Tahir maintains his hold on fifth position while the Eagles' 19-year-old batsman Rilee Rossouw moves up from 22nd place on the rankings to 11th as a result of his third century of the season against the Titans. Cobras opening batsman Andrew Puttick makes a significant leap up the rankings, from 33rd to 15th following his epic 174 against the Lions.
Warriors fast bowler Mario Olivier, who had not played in a SuperSport Series match this season, makes an impressive entrance into the rankings - match figures of 11 for 97 against the Dolphins earning him 65th place.
On the overall rankings, based on the SuperSport Series, MTN Domestic Championship and Standard Bank Pro20, Henderson maintains his stranglehold on first position with Eagles 'keeper Morne van Wyk holding on to second place while Smit moves from seventh place into third.
The Standard Bank Rankings are run by SACA using comprehensive match statistics from Cricket South Africa's official statistician, Andrew Samson. The full list and details of the ranking criteria can be found at www.saca.org.za and www.standardbankcricket.com.
The rankings are designed to provide both players and Franchises with a statistical measure of a player's performance and worth over and above straightforward batting and bowling averages.