Brian Murgatroyd - ICC

Win for Pakistan in Shoaib Malik's first series in charge will see sides swap places; Yousuf can challenge Ponting for top batting spot; Kallis and Asif have chance to rise

Pakistan launches its bid to swap places with visitors South Africa in the LG ICC Test Championship when the two teams go head-to-head in a two-Test series starting in Karachi from Monday 1 October.

Currently sixth, Pakistan can leapfrog Graeme Smith's line-up if it wins the series.

Victory in both matches will earn five rating points for the home side in what will be Shoaib Malik's first Test series in charge, while a 1-0 win will give it four rating points.

Those margins will, in turn, see South Africa cost five points for two defeats and three points if it goes down by one match.

However, a winning series will carry the Proteas closer to Sri Lanka and India, the two sides directly above it in the LG ICC Test Championship table.

Success in both Tests would lift South Africa to the same mark as those two line-ups, although it would remain fifth when the ratings of the three sides are calculated to three decimal places.

And a 1-0 series success would take Smith's side to 105 rating points, two behind the sides above it.

For Pakistan this series marks the start of a busy period in Test cricket with a tour to India and a home series against Australia to follow in the coming months.

Success in this rubber and the two that follow should go some way towards helping the side back up towards the top of the table as it occupied third spot as recently as the first half of this year.

Pakistan lost that placing and slipped down the ladder when the annual refresh of the LG ICC Test Championship table took place in July, something that ensures it continues to reflect current form.

The listing is certainly congested, with just 12 rating points separating second-placed England and seventh-placed New Zealand so this series is significant not only for the two sides taking part but also all those teams around them.

In case of a drawn series, both teams would maintain their current positions.

Meanwhile, Pakistan's Mohammad Yousuf will be looking to close the gap on Australia's Ricky Ponting at the top of the LG ICC Player Rankings for Test batsman.

Yousuf trails the Australia captain by just 21 rating points and after declaring himself available for his country following a meeting earlier this week with Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Dr. Nasim Ashraf earlier this week, he now has the chance to make up that deficit.

The reason Yousuf is within touching distance of top spot is simple: in 2006 he made more Test hundreds - nine - and scored more Test runs - 1788 - in a calendar year than any other player in the history of the game.

It meant he was named ICC Test Player of the Year at the ICC Awards in Johannesburg earlier this month and it also means that, after missing the ICC World Twenty20 and in the absence of former captain Inzamam-ul-Haq, he will be a pivotal player for Pakistan in this series.

Another player not involved in the ICC World Twenty20 was Jacques Kallis, one of three South Africa players in the batting top 20. And although he has stepped down as the side's vice-captain, his will be out to show he remains one of the world's top performers.

The elegant right-hander currently lies seventh and is only 22 rating points behind fifth-placed Michael Hussey of Australia.

Other players from the two competing teams that feature prominently in the batting list include Yunus Khan, Pakistan's other representative alongside Yousuf in the top 10 (he is eighth), as well as Ashwell Prince (10th), captain Smith (16th) and Herschelle Gibbs (24th).

Amongst the bowlers, South Africa's Makhaya Ntini is a distant second to Sri Lanka's talismanic spinner Muttiah Muralidaran but he can close in the gap with a stellar performance in this series.

For Pakistan, seam bowler Mohammad Asif will be eyeing continued upward movement in the list. He is currently in sixth place in the LG ICC Player Rankings for Test bowlers with his best-ever tally of rating points and is just 20 rating points behind third-placed Shaun Pollock, a player who may not feature in the opening Test in Karachi.

Leg-spinner Danish Kaneria could conceivably break into the top 10 as, in 13th place, trails India's Zaheer Khan by just 16 points. Further down the listing, Umar Gul is 18th and South Africa's Andre Nel is 24th.

Kallis is comfortably clear at the top of the LG ICC Player Rankings for Test all-rounders. Pollock lies third with the injured Andrew Flintoff of England between the Proteas' duo.

For more information go to: http://www.icc-cricket.com/icc/rankings/lg.html

The itinerary for the Pakistan - South Africa Test series is as follows:

1-5 October - first Test, Karachi
8-12 October - second Test, Lahore

A five-match ODI series will follow the Test series.

© ICC