England Cricket / Editor / 26 March 2007 /

Kevin Pietersen has become only the third England player to top the one-day international batting world rankings after hitting two half-centuries at the World Cup.

The 26-year-old takes over from Mike Hussey, who drops to third, while Australia skipper Ricky Ponting is at number two.

Pietersen enjoyed a sensational introduction to the limited-over game at international level, scoring three centuries against South Africa in 2005, and has been consistent ever since despite failing to reach three figures for the past two years.

The South African-born right-hander averages 60.50 in the 50-over game and has already scored 50s against New Zealand and Kenya in the group stage of the Caribbean tournament as England head into the Super 8s.

The Hampshire man will be hoping to add to his tally in the next six matches with fixtures against Ireland and Bangladesh on the horizon, and he has now joined Allan Lamb and Marcus Trescothick as Englishmen who have topped the one-day world rankings.

South Africa's Shaun Pollock remains at the top of the bowling rankings but the big movers are New Zealander Shane Bond, who climbs three places up to second, and Sri Lankan spin-wizard Muttiah Muralitharan, who is up from tenth to third.

Despite his current form, Pietersen is still on offer at 28 to be the World Cup's top run-scorer, with Ponting favourite at 4.6 and Proteas' skipper Graeme Smith trading at 7.8.

Aussie opener Matthew Hayden, who hammered the fastest ever World Cup century against South Africa on Saturday, is now available at 8.6, having been matched to small stakes at 50.

Sri Lankan left-armer Chaminda Vaas is favourite to be top wicket-taker in the West Indies and is on offer at 3.5, with Murali available at 6.8 and Aussie spinner Brad Hogg trading at 9.2

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