South Africa takes the lead in LG ICC ODI Championship table

South Africa is the new leader in the LG ICC ODI Championship table.

The Proteas have taken over at the summit of the table following Australia's five-wicket loss to New Zealand in Auckland on Sunday which cost Michael Hussey's side two rating points.

And even if Australia wins the final match of its three-match series against the Black Caps, in Hamilton on Tuesday, it will not be enough for it to regain top spot.

It is the first time since the listings began in October 2002 that Australia has not occupied top position.

The side that leads the table on 1 April stands to win US$175,000, with US$75,000 going to the second-placed team and so, with the ICC Cricket World Cup starting in the Caribbean on 13 March, there is still an opportunity for Australia to regain top spot ahead of that cut-off date.

South Africa has taken over thanks to an outstanding recent run of form in the past 12 months. Since it failed to qualify for the finals of the tri-series against Australia and Sri Lanka last February it has won 15 of its next 21 matches.

That run includes a 3-2 series win over Australia, sealed when it scored a then world-record 438-9 at Johannesburg, as well as seven wins from its last eight completed matches.

Form like that has lifted South Africa's rating by 10 points since the end of February 2006 while, during that same period, Australia's rating has slipped by seven points, not helped by five losses in its last six matches including Sunday's reverse at Eden Park.

New Zealand's victory, which secures the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy, has lifted it to 111 rating points and it now only trails third-placed Pakistan when the ratings are recalculated to three decimal places.

If Stephen Fleming's side can complete a 3-0 clean sweep on Tuesday then it will overtake Inzamam-ul-Haq's side, a timely boost for the side that failed to reach the tri-series final against Australia and England earlier this month.

India, meanwhile, is only two rating points further back in fifth place having moved ahead of Sri Lanka thanks to its 2-1 series win, completed with a seven-wicket victory over Mahela Jayawardene's side in Visakapatnam on Saturday.

To track movements in the table, visit the odi predictor where you can see how it will unfold with all possible combinations of results.