England jump back to No. 3 spot
England's forthcoming series against South Africa, the most enticing contest in the near future, has been given an extra edge after the teams swapped places in the latest ICC rankings
Cricinfo staff
08-Jun-2008
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England's forthcoming series against South Africa, the most enticing contest in the near future, has been given an extra edge after the teams swapped places in the latest ICC rankings. After their 2-0 series victory over New Zealand, England have leapfrogged their next opponent into third place in the table.
They were on 108 points at the start of the series but the draw at Lord's followed by victories at Old Trafford and Trent Bridge boosted them to 110, just one point behind India, who retain second spot. Australia, currently 1-0 up against West Indies, remain well ahead of the chasing pack.
England could have ended this series in second position had they won all three Tests, but can still finish the season ahead of India if they beat South Africa and India do not win the series in Sri Lanka starting next month.
However, if South Africa edge the four-match series, beginning at Lord's on July 10, they could be the one to go into second depending on how the Sri Lanka-India contest pans out.
New Zealand remain in seventh place, 11 points ahead of West Indies, but that gap could close if West Indies can level the series against Australia with victory in the final Test in Barbados.
| Team | Matches |
|---|
Points
Rating
Australia
33
4650
141
India
42
4642
111
England
48
5285
110
South Africa
44
4789
109
Sri Lanka
35
3709
106
Pakistan
33
3107
94
New Zealand
29
2559
88
West Indies
31
2380
77
Bangladesh
24
23
1