Window of opportunity for Pakistan and England
India's drawn home Test series against New Zealand has opened the door for both Pakistan and England to climb the official Test table
India's drawn home Test series against New Zealand has opened the door for both Pakistan and England to climb the official Test table.
Pakistan now has an opportunity to climb from sixth to fifth while England, currently fourth could leapfrog New Zealand claim third spot.
A draw for Pakistan in the second match of the two-Test series against South Africa will be enough for it to climb to fifth place in the ICC Test Championship and ahead of India for the first time since July 2002.
New Zealand needed to win the series in India to maintain a cushion ahead of its closest rival England in the official table. The drawn series means that the two sides now both have ratings of 104 with New Zealand only a shade ahead of England when the calculation is redefined to three decimal places.
If England wins its current series in Bangladesh 2-0 its rating will remain on 104 but, crucially, the recalculation for positioning purposes will put it ahead of New Zealand in the standings.
In Australia the home side confirmed its dominance of Test cricket with a 2-0 series win over Zimbabwe. The win boosts Australia's rating to 130, the highest it has been since the new ratings system was introduced in May 2003.
The ICC Test Championship table correct on 21 October 2003
| Team | Rating | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Australia | 130 |
| 2 | South Africa | 116 |
| 3 | New Zealand | 104 |
| 4 | England | 104 |
| 5 | India | 95 |
| 6 | Pakistan | 92 |
| 7 | Sri Lanka | 91 |
| 8 | West Indies | 83 |
| 9 | Zimbabwe | 57 |
| 10 | Bangladesh | 0 |
Developed by David Kendix.
Note: If ratings are equal, the ratings calculation is refined to three decimal places to determine the higher ranked team.
Full scenarios for Bangladesh v England Test series:
| Bangladesh | England | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current rating: | 0 | 104 | ||
| Possible series outcomes: | ||||
| Bangladesh wins by 2 Tests (2-0) | 10 | 97 | ||
| Bangladesh wins by 1 Test (1-0) | 8 | 98 | ||
| Series drawn (0-0, 1-1) | 4 | 101 | ||
| England wins by 1 Test (1-0) | 1 | 103 | ||
| England wins by 2 Tests (2-0) | 0 | 104 | ||
Full scenarios for Pakistan v South Africa Test series:
| Pakistan | South Africa | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current rating: | 92 | 116 | ||
| Possible series outcomes: | ||||
| Pakistan wins by 2 Tests (2-0) | 100 | 110 | ||
| Pakistan wins by 1 Test (1-0) | 98 | 111 | ||
| Series drawn (1-1) | 94 | 114 | ||
The impact future results will have on the ratings is available on the official ICC website. For a full explanation of how the ratings are calculated, visit www.icc.cricket.org.
ICC media contacts:
| Brendan McClements | Jon Long |
| General Manager - Corporate Affairs | Project Officer - Corporate Affairs |
| Mobile: + 44 (0) 7786 194974 | Mobile: + 44 (0) 7946 545090 |
| E Mail: jon.long@icc-cricket.com |
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