ODI whitewash will put England second

After claiming third spot in the official Test table with a 3-0 series victory in the West Indies, England goes into the seven-match One-Day International series against the same opposition with a mathematical chance of going one better in the ICC ODI Championship table.

A 7-0 whitewash in the seven-match series would improve England's ODI rating to 114 and lift Michael Vaughan's side to second place, ahead of South Africa by one point.

England currently lies in seventh position going into the opening match in Guyana on Sunday while the West Indies are eighth. But the table is so tight that a good series for either side will have a dramatic impact on the official standings.

England needs to win the series 6-1 to be sure of climbing to third spot. A 5-2 win for the visiting team will boost its rating to 109 - the same as Sri Lanka and New Zealand who currently occupy third and fourth spots.

There is plenty of incentive for the home side to perform. A slender 4-3 series win will be enough for the West Indies to close the gap on England. It will leave both sides with a rating of 103.

If the West Indies can find a rich vein of form and win the series 7-0 it will rocket up the table to as high as third spot with a rating of 109. This outcome would see England's rating slump to 95.

The ICC ODI Championship table correct on 16 April 2004

Note: If ratings are equal, the ratings calculation is refined to three decimal places to determine the higher ranked team.

Jeff Crowe from the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Referees will officiate on the series, his first as a member of the Elite Panel. Aleem Dar from the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Umpires will stand in five of the matches with his Emirates Elite Panel colleague Darrell Hair standing in the second and fourth matches. They will stand with officials appointed by the home board.

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'.

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