Australian captain Ricky Ponting has retained fourth spot in the ICC Test batting rankings while a century from Jacques Kallis was enough to return the South African to the top ahead of Brian Lara.

Only 23 points separate the elite quartet of Kallis, West Indies maestro Lara, India's Rahul Dravid and Ponting.

South Africa captain Graeme Smith has returned to the top 10 after recapturing his best form during the 2-0 series win in the Caribbean while West Indies triple centurion Chris Gayle has climbed to 24th.

In the ICC Test bowling rankings, Australia's Glenn McGrath has retained first placing.

Australia is 22 points clear of second-placed England in the Test rankings. South Africa has drawn level with Sri Lanka on 100 points but it remains in sixth place when the ratings are recalculated to three decimal places.

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