Clarke increases ranking lead

Australia captain Michael Clarke has kicked further clear atop the ICC Test batting rankings after his sensational finish to 2012.

Clarke made 106 against Sri Lanka in the Boxing Day Test at the MCG to finish the calendar year with an astonishing 1595 runs.

The 31-year-old now finds himself with 900 rankings points and is the seventh Australian after Don Bradman, Ricky Ponting, Matthew Hayden, Doug Walters, Neil Harvey and Mike Hussey to achieve that feat.

West Indian veteran Shivnarine Chanderpaul is Clarke’s closest rival in the rankings, but he is some 21 points behind the Australian skipper.

There were few changes at the top of the batting rankings following the Boxing Day Test, although Sri Lankan star Kumar Sangakkara did move up one place to fourth.

In the bowling rankings, Australia’s Peter Siddle moved up once place to fourth, while recalled paceman Mitchell Johnson rose three spots to 18th.

Johnson’s man-of-the-match performance against Sri Lanka also saw the 31-year-old catapult up the all-rounder rankings to 10th.

South Africa’s Dale Steyn remains the top-ranked bowler, with team-mate Vernon Philander and Pakistan’s Saeed Ajmal his closest challengers in second and third, while Jacques Kallis remains clear in the all-rounder rankings.