India and Pakistan aim to close in on second spot in ICC Test Championship

India and Pakistan will both be eyeing second spot in the ICC Test Championship ahead of their forthcoming series against Bangladesh and Australia.

India is third in the official Test table, the highest it has ever been, and can climb to within one point of second-placed England if it wins both matches of its two-Test series against Bangladesh starting in Dhaka on Friday 10 December.

If India wins the series 2-0 its rating will improve from 107 to 108 points while a 1-0 series victory will see its rating remain unchanged.

Pakistan currently has a rating of 105 points which puts it fourth in the official table. If it can win its three match series against Australia which begins in Perth on 16 December it will leapfrog India and England into second place.

A 1-0 or 2-1 series win over the current leaders would improve Pakistan's rating to 111 points.

Australia leads the official table by 21 points and must beat Pakistan at least 2-0 to improve its rating.

England's opportunity to affirm its hold on the number two spot begins in Port Elizabeth on Friday 17 December in the first match of a five-match series against South Africa.

England must win the series to improve its rating - a 1-0, 2-1 or 3-2 winning margin will boost its rating from 109 to 110 points.

If England loses the series by the same margin its rating will fall to 106 points while a series draw would see it slide to 108 points.

South Africa had never been outside the top two in the official Test table until it was overtaken by England in August 2004. It is currently in sixth place with a rating of 100 but a strong performance on home soil would boost it back up the table.

A 5-0 home win for South Africa would increase its rating to 108 while England's would fall to 102.

For full details of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Umpires and Referees officiating on these series visit the umpires and referees section of the ICC website.

For details of the ICC Test Championship visit the Test cricket page of the ICC website.