Cricket: New Zealand tail wags

The strength of the batting tail of the current New Zealand cricket team is highlighted in the latest world ratings.

New Zealand's last four batsmen are ranked third of the nine test playing nations, according to the PriceWaterhouseCoopers ratings. South Africa and Sri Lanka have the most resilient tail, followed by New Zealand.

On the world rating of the top 30 test batsmen, Stephen Fleming is the only New Zealand to make the list, coming at 26, down one place on last month, and one spot behind former England captain Mike Atherton.

New Zealand has four bowlers in the top 30 with Simon Doull at 12, Chris Cairns at 22, Dion Nash rated 29 and Daniel Vettori 30.