Tuesday's key match between West Indies and South Africa should churn the most valuable player (MVP) list quite a bit.
South Africa fast bowler Andre Nel, in particular, will have to play really well to stay at the top of the list.
New Zealand's left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori has moved up 30 places to jump to the 20th place after his figures of 8.4-1-23-4 against Ireland on Monday.
With New Zealand likely to go far in this World Cup, Vettori has a fair chance of ending up eventually in the top ten.
| Rank | Country | Player | Runs | Balls | Ct | St | Rc | Bb | W | Run Outs | M | Total | AVG |
| 1 | SA | Andre Nel | 1 | 5 | 2 | 45 | 60 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 131.00 | 131.00 |
| 2 | SL | Sanath Jayasuriya | 275 | 241 | 1 | 105 | 170 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 513.20 | 128.30 |
| 3 | Aus | Matthew Hayden | 347 | 300 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 459.00 | 114.75 | |||
| 4 | NZ | Scott Styris | 177 | 218 | 3 | 119 | 180 | 7 | 0.5 | 4 | 399.60 | 99.90 |
| 5 | NZ | Jacob Oram | 83 | 131 | 2 | 93 | 177 | 8 | 1 | 4 | 335.80 | 83.95 |
| 6 | NZ | Shane Bond | 0 | 0 | 0 | 83 | 202 | 9 | 0 | 4 | 294.60 | 73.65 |
| 7 | Eng | Kevin Pietersen | 270 | 341 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0.5 | 4 | 287.00 | 71.75 |
| 8 | Eng | Andrew Flintoff | 49 | 89 | 2 | 130 | 217 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 272.40 | 68.10 |
| 9 | SA | Jacques Kallis | 232 | 295 | 3 | 137 | 144 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 269.20 | 67.30 |
| 10 | SL | Lasith Malinga | 2 | 9 | 1 | 165 | 182 | 11 | 0.5 | 4 | 258.40 | 64.60 |
| 11 | Aus | Ricky Ponting | 212 | 233 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 257.60 | 64.40 | |||
| 12 | Eng | Paul Collingwood | 137 | 161 | 3 | 152 | 168 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 238.60 | 59.65 |
| 13 | SA | Graeme Smith | 186 | 203 | 2 | 51 | 54 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 235.80 | 58.95 |
| 14 | Aus | Nathan Bracken | 0 | 0 | 1 | 118 | 192 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 232.60 | 58.15 |
| 15 | Aus | Michael Clarke | 188 | 185 | 2 | 27 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 230.20 | 57.55 |
| 16 | WI | Daren Powell | 7 | 14 | 0 | 154 | 234 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 228.00 | 57.00 |
| 17 | Aus | Glenn McGrath | 0 | 0 | 0 | 160 | 177 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 221.60 | 55.40 |
| 18 | SL | Muttiah Muralitharan | 3 | 3 | 2 | 156 | 228 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 208.00 | 52.00 |
| 19 | Aus | Adam Gilchrist | 135 | 132 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 204.40 | 51.10 | |||
| 20 | NZ | Daniel Vettori | 5 | 7 | 0 | 149 | 226 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 204.20 | 51.05 |
| 21 | SL | Mahela Jayawardene | 196 | 275 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 201.00 | 50.25 | |||
| 22 | SL | Tillakaratne Dilshan | 102 | 104 | 1 | 48 | 84 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 193.00 | 48.25 |
| 23 | SL | Dilhara Fernando | 2 | 2 | 1 | 60 | 96 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 96.20 | 48.10 |
| 24 | NZ | Stephen Fleming | 164 | 180 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 184.00 | 46.00 | |||
| 25 | Eng | Liam Plunkett | 29 | 34 | 0 | 43 | 42 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 45.40 | 45.40 |
| 26 | SL | Chaminda Vaas | 4 | 6 | 1 | 106 | 198 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 180.60 | 45.15 |
| 27 | SL | Kumar Sangakkara | 108 | 136 | 4 | 4 | 0.5 | 4 | 179.20 | 44.80 | |||
| 28 | Eng | Paul Nixon | 111 | 106 | 3 | 1 | 0.5 | 4 | 174.20 | 43.55 | |||
| 29 | SA | Charles Langeveldt | 10 | 47 | 1 | 219 | 222 | 9 | 0.5 | 4 | 174.00 | 43.50 |
| 30 | Aus | Brad Hogg | 5 | 6 | 1 | 173 | 210 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 173.20 | 43.30 |
| 31 | Aus | Shaun Tait | 0 | 0 | 0 | 173 | 189 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 170.20 | 42.55 |
| 32 | SA | Andre Hall | 8 | 13 | 0 | 130 | 159 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 122.80 | 40.93 |
| 33 | WI | Shivnarine Chanderpaul | 187 | 263 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 163.60 | 40.90 | |||
| 34 | Ire | Andrew White | 86 | 98 | 2 | 74 | 91 | 2 | 0.5 | 4 | 162.40 | 40.60 |
| 35 | Ire | Trent Johnston | 53 | 54 | 2 | 148 | 138 | 3 | 0.5 | 3 | 119.20 | 39.73 |
| 36 | Aus | Shane Watson | 47 | 35 | 1 | 81 | 100 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 118.00 | 39.33 |
| 37 | WI | Brian Lara | 116 | 136 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 157.20 | 39.30 | |||
| 38 | SA | Herschelle Gibbs | 110 | 144 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 153.80 | 38.45 | |||
| 39 | Ban | Syed Rasel | 10 | 19 | 1 | 121 | 162 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 114.40 | 38.13 |
| 40 | Ire | Kyle McCallan | 28 | 44 | 0 | 135 | 210 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 149.80 | 37.45 |
| 41 | Ban | Mohammad Ashraful | 141 | 162 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 147.00 | 36.75 |
| 42 | Eng | Ian Bell | 160 | 254 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 145.80 | 36.45 | |||
| 43 | Eng | Sajid Mahmood | 2 | 4 | 0 | 144 | 158 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 103.20 | 34.40 |
| 44 | SA | AB De Villiers | 107 | 117 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 135.40 | 33.85 | |||
| 45 | NZ | Brendon McCullum | 47 | 37 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 129.40 | 32.35 | |||
| 46 | WI | Dwayne Bravo | 48 | 64 | 0 | 175 | 174 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 129.00 | 32.25 |
| 47 | Eng | Ravinder Bopara | 83 | 94 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 95.80 | 31.93 | |||
| 48 | NZ | Hamish Marshall | 81 | 98 | 0 | 0.5 | 3 | 95.60 | 31.87 | |||
| 49 | WI | Denesh Ramdin | 69 | 70 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 117.00 | 29.25 | |||
| 50 | SA | Shaun Pollock | 37 | 54 | 0 | 171 | 210 | 2 | 1.5 | 4 | 111.80 | 27.95 |
| 51 | Ire | Dave Langford-Smith | 26 | 23 | 0 | 143 | 186 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 111.40 | 27.85 |
| 52 | NZ | Peter Fulton | 98 | 142 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 82.40 | 27.47 | |||
| 53 | SA | Makhaya Ntini | 15 | 20 | 1 | 169 | 204 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 109.20 | 27.30 |
| 54 | Ire | Kevin O'Brien | 78 | 110 | 1 | 59 | 54 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 81.20 | 27.07 |
| 55 | Ban | Aftab Ahmed | 85 | 105 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0.5 | 4 | 107.80 | 26.95 |
| 56 | WI | Chris Gayle | 74 | 114 | 1 | 147 | 176 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 103.60 | 25.90 |
| 57 | Ban | Mohammad Rafique | 40 | 60 | 1 | 128 | 168 | 2 | 0.5 | 4 | 103.40 | 25.85 |
| 58 | Ire | Boyd Rankin | 4 | 9 | 0 | 147 | 162 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 103.40 | 25.85 |
| 59 | WI | Ramnaresh Sarwan | 128 | 224 | 1 | 22 | 24 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 103.00 | 25.75 |
| 60 | Ire | Niall O'Brien | 129 | 219 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 102.80 | 25.70 | |||
| 61 | SL | Russel Arnold | 79 | 104 | 0 | 26 | 37 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 102.40 | 25.60 |
| 62 | NZ | James Franklin | 34 | 22 | 1 | 126 | 156 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 102.20 | 25.55 |
| 63 | SL | Chamara Silva | 108 | 143 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 101.60 | 25.40 | |||
| 64 | NZ | Jeetan Patel | 0 | 0 | 0 | 74 | 90 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 46.00 | 23.00 |
| 65 | WI | Ian Bradshaw | 6 | 17 | 0 | 94 | 114 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 43.60 | 21.80 |
| 66 | SL | Upul Tharanga | 108 | 177 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 84.40 | 21.10 | |||
| 67 | Aus | Andrew Symonds | 59 | 31 | 1 | 107 | 86 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 84.00 | 21.00 |
| 68 | Ban | Tamim Iqbal | 76 | 134 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 83.80 | 20.95 | |||
| 69 | SA | Ashwell Prince | 49 | 54 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 59.80 | 19.93 | |||
| 70 | Eng | Monty Panesar | 1 | 2 | 0 | 171 | 222 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 79.00 | 19.75 |
| 71 | Eng | James Anderson | 0 | 1 | 0 | 162 | 210 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 77.20 | 19.30 |
| 72 | WI | Marlon Samuels | 43 | 62 | 1 | 81 | 84 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 75.60 | 18.90 |
| 73 | Ban | Saqibul Hasan | 63 | 124 | 1 | 145 | 143 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 73.20 | 18.30 |
| 74 | NZ | Craig McMillan | 82 | 120 | 0 | 6 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 69.20 | 17.30 |
| 75 | Ire | Andre Botha | 60 | 115 | 0 | 109 | 132 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 48.60 | 16.20 |
| 76 | Ban | Abdur Razzak | 2 | 6 | 0 | 164 | 166 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 64.00 | 16.00 |
| 77 | SL | Farveez Maharoof | 5 | 9 | 1 | 67 | 84 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 32.00 | 16.00 |
| 78 | SA | Mark Boucher | 34 | 53 | 5 | 0 | 0.5 | 4 | 62.60 | 15.65 | |||
| 79 | WI | Jerome Taylor | 23 | 27 | 0 | 136 | 156 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 37.20 | 12.40 |
| 80 | WI | Lendl Simmons | 14 | 26 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 12.20 | 12.20 | |||
| 81 | Eng | Michael Vaughan | 37 | 76 | 0 | 48 | 72 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 46.80 | 11.70 |
| 82 | Ire | Eoin Morgan | 63 | 128 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 43.60 | 10.90 | |||
| 83 | Aus | Brad Hodge | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 10.00 | 10.00 | |||
| 84 | Ban | Mashrafe Mortaza | 59 | 63 | 1 | 172 | 174 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 39.80 | 9.95 |
| 85 | NZ | Michael Mason | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 45 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 18.00 | 9.00 |
| 86 | Ire | William Porterfield | 56 | 125 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 27.00 | 6.75 | |||
| 87 | Eng | Andrew Strauss | 7 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6.00 | 6.00 | |||
| 88 | Aus | Michael Hussey | 14 | 21 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 21.20 | 5.30 | |||
| 89 | Eng | Ed Joyce | 11 | 28 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 14.60 | 4.87 | |||
| 90 | Ban | Habibul Bashar | 56 | 125 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 17.00 | 4.25 | |||
| 91 | SA | Robin Petersen | 4 | 8 | 0 | 22 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3.60 | 3.60 |
| 92 | Ire | Jeremy Bray | 42 | 87 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 14.40 | 3.60 | |||
| 93 | WI | Dwayne Smith | 17 | 15 | 0 | 47 | 48 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 13.40 | 3.35 |
| 94 | Ban | Javed Omar | 39 | 92 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4.40 | 2.20 | |||
| 95 | SA | Justin Kemp | 13 | 51 | 2 | 27 | 24 | 0 | 0.5 | 4 | -0.60 | -0.15 |
| 96 | NZ | Ross Taylor | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -0.80 | -0.80 | |||
| 97 | Ban | Shahriar Nafees | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -3.60 | -1.80 | |||
| 98 | Ire | Peter Gillespie | 2 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -2.40 | -2.40 | |||
| 99 | Ban | Mushfiqur Rahim | 14 | 54 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -15.20 | -3.80 | |||
| 100 | NZ | Lou Vincent | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -4.80 | -4.80 | |||
| 101 | WI | Corey Collymore | 1 | 7 | 0 | 99 | 114 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -11.40 | -5.70 |
| 102 | Eng | Jamie Dalrymple | 3 | 12 | 1 | 29 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -8.40 | -8.40 |
| 103 | Ire | John Mooney | 0 | 2 | 0 | 62 | 45 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -27.60 | -13.80 |
| 104 | Ban | Tapash Baisya | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -21.40 | -21.40 |
The Chernoff gallery of the top nine Super Eight players after Day 26 appears below.
Recall that batsmen have round faces and a short and wide nose. They smile more when they score more runs. Bowlers have tapered faces, a tall and thin nose, and bigger ears if they take more wickets. All-rounders have both batsmen's and bowler's features.
Here are the faces of the nine highest scoring batsmen in the Super Eight (total runs / scoring rate). If two players have scored the same number of runs, the player with the higher points appears first.
Here are the faces of the nine highest wicket-taking bowlers in the Super Eight (wickets / no. of runs conceded per over). If two players have scored the same number of wickets, the player with the higher points appears first.
And finally, here are the faces of the nine most successful fielders in the Super Eight (fielding points | run outs / catches / stumpings. Fielders who take a lot of catches have wide eyebrows, and those that participate in run out dismissals have bigger eyes. Notice the large number of wicket-keepers in this list.
We end off by looking at the most consistent performances in the 2007 World Cup.
Scott Styris, who is currently placed fourth, has figured in the MVP top ten for 22 of the first 26 days!
Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis, Sanath Jayasuriya, Matthew Hayden, Jacob Oram and Ricky Ponting have figured in the top 10 for 12 or more days. See the full list below (number in bracket is today's rank).
This list, the Chernoff faces and other charts have been prepared by my colleagues Debasish Ghosh and K Anil Kumar of Cranes Software International Limited using the SYSTAT software