England targets second spot in official ICC ODI table

Having cemented third spot in the official Test table with a 3-0 series win over New Zealand, England's One-Day International team can now aim even higher in the ICC ODI Championship table.

If England wins all of its matches in the NatWest Series against New Zealand and the West Indies, it will climb to second spot in the official ODI table.

Michael Vaughan's team goes into the first match against New Zealand at Old Trafford next Thursday (24 June) in seventh spot with a rating of 105. But if it makes it through all six qualifying matches and the final without losing, it will move above South Africa, currently second on 113 points. England has never been higher than third in the official ODI table since it was launched in October 2002.

England will need to win over half of its matches in the series to ensure that its rating improves. If it fails to win a game, it will drop to eighth in the table.

New Zealand, currently fourth in the official table on 109 points, can also close in on South Africa if its players can bounce back from the Test defeat and perform well in the ODI matches.

Like England, New Zealand will need to remain unbeaten to overtake South Africa in the standings, but if it reaches and wins the final, it should be enough to lift the Black Caps to third place ahead of Sri Lanka.

The West Indies goes into the series as the lowest ranked of the three participating teams, in eighth spot with a rating of 102. Victories in its first three matches will help it overtake England, while a successful series could see it climb as high as fourth in the official ODI table.

The NatWest Series will be the first One-Day International series in which a minimum of 20 overs for the side batting second will constitute a match.

This follows a decision of the ICC Chief Executives' Committee (CEC) in Dhaka in February to trial lowering the minimum number of overs required in an interrupted innings from 25 overs to 20 overs.

This reduction will apply on an experimental basis for the NatWest Series and the NatWest Challenge between England and India.

Its introduction for all ODI cricket has been recommended by the ICC Cricket Committee - made up of former players, half of whom are nominated by current cricketers - and will be considered at the next CEC meeting in London in June.

Gundappa Viswanath from the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Referees will take charge of the series while Daryl Harper and Rudi Koertzen from the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Umpires will stand alongside a locally-appointed official in alternate matches. Harper will stand in the first match.

The ICC ODI Championship table is updated on the ICC website after every ODI match.

To predict the impact future results will have on the ratings visit the official ICC website www.icc.cricket.org then click on `ICC ODI Championship' and `analyse this table for future results'.