Morne Morkel’s performances at the World Cup has seen him break into the top 10 ODI bowlers list in the latest ICC rankings, published on Monday.
Morkel, who has been South Africa’s best fast bowler at the tournament, now sits at No 10, one point behind New Zealand’s Daniel Vettori.
Dale Steyn has moved up to second on the latest rankings, despite experiencing a mediocre World Cup thus far.
The biggest reason for Steyn’s elevation (he was previously ranked third) is the absence of West Indian spinner Sunil Narine at the World Cup. Narine, who was second, has slipped down to No 4, pushing Imran Tahir to fifth.
Australian Mitchell Starc, one of the host nation’s stars at the World Cup and the leading wicket-taker with 16 scalps, was the biggest gainer, slotting in behind Steyn at No 3.
AB de Villiers still occupies the No 1 spot on the batting rankings, followed by Kumar Sangakkara and Hashim Amla respectively.
Those three batsmen will play key roles when South Africa play Sri Lanka in the quarterfinals on Wednesday, with their success or failure with the bat likely to determine who stays and who goes home.
ODI batting rankings
| Rank | (+/-) | Player | Team | Points |
| 1 | (-) | AB de Villiers | SA | 899 |
| 2 | (-) | Kumar Sangakkara | SL | 861 |
| 3 | (-) | Hashim Amla | SA | 847 |
| 4 | (-) | Virat Kohli | Ind | 843 |
| 5 | (-) | T Dilshan | SL | 802 |
| 6 | (-) | Kane Williamson | NZ | 769 |
| 7 | (-) | Shikar Dhawan | Ind | 758 |
| 8 | (+2) | MS Dhoni | Ind | 731 |
| 9 | (+8) | Glenn Maxwell | Aus | 714 |
| 10 | (-1) | George Bailey | Aus | 708 |
ODI bowling rankings
| Rank | (+/-) | Player | Team | Points |
| 1 | (-) | Saeed Ajmal | Pak | 722 |
| 2 | (+1) | Dale Steyn | SA | 717 |
| 3 | (+2) | Mitchell Starc | Aus | 713 |
| 4 | (-2) | Sunil Narine | WI | 712 |
| 5 | (-1) | Imran Tahir | SA | 699 |
| 6 | (+1) | James Anderson | Eng | 670 |
| 7 | (-) | Shakib al Hasan | Ban | 667 |
| 8 | (-2) | Mitchell Johnson | Aus | 666 |
| 9 | (-) | Daniel Vettori | NZ | 659 |
| 10 | (+2) | Morne Morkel | SA | 658 |
