ICC Test Championship media release: Australia targets top spot in Test table
Australia can move back to the top of the ICC Test Championship if it wins the Cable and Wireless series against West Indies which begins on Thursday 10th April
ICC Media Release
09-Apr-2003
Australia can move back to the top of the ICC Test Championship if it wins the Cable and Wireless series against West Indies which begins on Thursday 10th April.
Having asserted its dominance of the One-Day International game last month by retaining the ICC Cricket World Cup without losing a match, Australia can now focus on overhauling South Africa at the top of the Test rankings.
A series win for Australia will boost its points tally to 21 from 13 series, taking its average up to 1.62 which is crucially 0.03 higher than South Africa's current average.
West Indies currently lies seventh in the ICC Test Championship with an average of 0.88. If Brian Lara's team can win the series it will boost this average to 0.94, taking West Indies above India to sixth place in the table.
The last time Australia toured the Caribbean in 1999 the series was drawn 2-2. A tie this time around will see both sides retain their current positions in the table.
ICC Test Championship Table, 9th April 2003
Team Played Won Lost Drawn Points Average South Africa 17 13 3 1 27 1.59 Australia 13 9 2 2 20 1.54 New Zealand 17 8 5 4 20 1.18 Sri Lanka 16 8 6 2 18 1.13 England 16 6 6 4 16 1.00 India 15 5 6 4 14 0.93 West Indies 17 7 9 1 15 0.88 Pakistan 16 4 8 4 12 0.75 Zimbabwe 16 3 11 2 8 0.50 Bangladesh 7 - 7 - 0 -
Mike Procter from the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Referees will officiate in all four matches. Asoka de Silva and Rudi Koertzen will be the on-field umpires in the first two Tests, David Shepherd and Srinivas Venkataraghaven will stand in the final matches. All four are members of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Umpires.
Media note:
At a meeting in Johannesburg 22nd March, the ICC Board agreed a new format for the ICC Test Championship which recognises the rewards and result of each Test match played.
The new system will be introduced from the beginning of June and further details will be announced prior to this official launch date.
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