Australia Leapfrogs England And Pakistan Into Third Place

Australia’s 281-runs victory over England in the fifth and final Test in Sydney on Sunday has helped it to jump two places to third on the Reliance ICC Test Team Rankings Table.

The 5-0 series win has helped Australia gain 10 ratings points to finish on 111, six ratings points behind second-ranked India.

England, on the other hand, has conceded nine ratings points to end at 107, thereby moving down a place to fourth.

South Africa is the clear leader of the table with 133 ratings points.

Australia had entered the Ashes series in fifth position on 101 ratings points, but after taking a 4-0, it was guaranteed fourth position on the table. Michael Clarke’s side needed to either draw or win the Sydney Test to be able to move up two places to third.

Australia next plays host South Africa in a three-Test series from 12 February, while England’s next assignment is a two-Test series against Sri Lanka from 12 June. Number-two ranked India will be featuring in a two-Test series from 10 February against New Zealand.

To find out exactly how the forthcoming series will affect the Rankings Table, please click here. The Test Ranking Table, unlike the ODI and T20I Rankings tables, are updated after every series.

About ICC World Test Championship

The inaugural ICC World Test Championship (ICC WTC) will be hosted by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in 2017.

The qualification pathway for the ICC World Test Championship is through the Reliance ICC Test Team Rankings, with the qualifying period being from 1 May 2013 to 31 December 2016.

The top four teams at the conclusion of the qualification period will qualify for the event in 2017.  The results of all Test series ending after 1 May 2013, and the results of all Test series starting before 31 December 2016, will be included in the period that determine qualification for the ICC WTC.

The official hashtag for the ICC World Test Championship is #wtc

Forthcoming Tests

Pakistan v Sri Lanka
8-12 Jan – Second Test, Dubai
16-20 Jan – Third Test, Sharjah

Reliance ICC Test Team Rankings table (as on 5 January, after the Australia v England series)

Rank   (+/-)  Team                          Rating     (+/-)
1                    South Africa               133
2                   India                            117
3           (+2)  Australia                     111   (+10)
4           (-1)  England                      107    (-9)
5         (-1)     Pakistan                       102
6                   Sri Lanka                      88
7                   West Indies                  88
8                   New Zealand               75
9                   Zimbabwe                   34
10                 Bangladesh                 18