But Garner's position and the ranking of the leading wicket-taker in history, Shane Warne, at 16 will cause surprise.

There is controversy in the batting list too, with no room in the top 20 for Brian Lara and Sachin Tendulkar.

Rankings are decided by the highest ratings achieved at a particular point for players rather than sustained success over a long period of time.

For batsmen, the number of runs scored by individuals and in the match, the quality of the opposition and match results are taken into account; for bowlers factors include wickets taken, runs conceded and workload.

"Some players have a peak in their careers like Kilimanjaro, whereas for others it's more like Table Mountain," said ICC spokesman Jon Long.

The lists will still spark debate, particularly with Sunil Gavaskar (20), Steve Waugh (32), Allan Border (39) -- all with more than 10,000 Test runs to their names -- missing out on top 10 spots.

Pace bowlers like Dennis Lillee (30) and Kapil Dev (35), regarded as among the finest in history, are also well down the rankings.

But Colin Croft, who played with Garner in the West Indies team, says Garner deserves to be at the pinnacle.