Martin Guptill and Brendon McCullum have both been named as two of the top three Twenty20 batsmen in the world in the latest ICC player rankings.
Guptill, who held the number one spot in the last ranking period, drops to second position with just 12 points separating himself and highest placed batsmen, Eoin Morgan (England).
The hard hitting opening batsman has 760 points to his name and holds an average of 34.04, but he isn’t the only New Zealand player to be in the top three.
McCullum sits just below Guptill in the most recent rankings and has an average of 34.66. Anything above 30 is considered impressive in terms of averages in Twenty20 cricket and to have two players from the same country who do so is particularly rare.
The BLACKCAPS are also represented in the bowling ratings, with Nathan McCullum currently occupying sixth spot. At 16.58 he has the fourth best bowling average in the top 30 and has 682 rating points to his name.
Tim Southee is the next best New Zealander in 23rd with 583 points.
It is a congested table in both batting and bowling and with a good showing in the Twenty20 World Cup later this year players will have a valuable opportunity to improve their ranking.
The next opportunity for the BLACKCAPS to rise up the ladder will be when they face India in two Twenty20s in September.
