Sydney, Mar 7 : Captain Michael Clarke is the solitary Australian batsman in the International Cricket Council''s (ICC) top 30 Test batsmen list, as many as cricket minnows Bangladesh.

Exactly five years ago, such was Australia''s dominance, four players Michael Hussey (2nd), Ricky Ponting (3rd), Matt Hayden (6th) and Michael Clarke (11th) featured in the ICC''s top-11 ranked Test batsmen, News. com. au reports.

However, in the wake of their second-Test thrashing by India, Australia have been left with one just batsman, Clarke, in the top 30 Test rankings released on Wednesday by the ICC.

Australia''s disturbingly poor rankings performance is matched only by whipping boys Bangladesh, whose sole representative in the top 30 is all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan at No. 28, and in the ultimate reflection on Australia''s batting efforts, every other Test playing nation has at least two players in the top 30, the paper said.

Sri Lanka has five batsmen, South Africa, India, Pakistan and the West Indies each have four, while even embattled New Zealand has two (Ross Taylor and Brendon McCullum) on the list, the paper added.

Perhaps most alarming of all, Australia''s upcoming Ashes foes England have five batsmen in the top 17, Alastair Cook (6th), Kevin Pietersen (8th), Ian Trott (13th), Matt Prior (15th) and Ian Bell (17th).

The rankings not only illustrate how dominant Clarke has become individually, but also the extent to which the captain has had to carry Australia''s misfiring batting line-up, the paper concluded. (ANI)