Australia, who defeated India in the ICC World Test Championship final at The Oval last year, have reclaimed No. 1 position in the ICC Men’s Test Team Rankings following the annual update that drops results from the 2020-21 season and reflects all series completed since May 2021.
Australia now lead the table with 124 rating points, but India, who ceded top position to them, are just four points behind and 15 points clear of third-placed England. South Africa are the fourth team above the 100-point mark with 103 points.
India slipped mainly because their 2-1 series win in Australia in 2020-21 has dropped from the rankings.
The order of teams ranked from third to ninth remains the same. Only nine teams are now ranked as Afghanistan and Ireland have yet to play sufficient Tests while Zimbabwe too are out as they have played only three Tests over the past three years.
Teams need to play a minimum of eight Tests over a three-year period to get on the rankings table.
India, however, remain atop the ODI and T20I rankings after the annual updates, that weight matches completed prior to May 2023 at 50 per cent and subsequent matches at 100 per cent.
India may have lost the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup final to Australia but have increased their lead over them from three to six points, leading the table with 122 points. There are no changes in the top 10 but Ireland have overtaken Zimbabwe to 11th position.
Third-placed South Africa have closed the gap with Australia from eight to four points while Sri Lanka are just two points behind fifth-placed England.
The T20I rankings see Australia move ahead of England to second place but they are seven points adrift of India, who lead with 264 rating points.
South Africa are just two points behind England after leapfrogging two places from the sixth position that they had before the update. New Zealand also have 250 points like South Africa but behind on fractions while the West Indies are at 249 points, which means that just three points separate third-placed England from sixth-placed West Indies.
In other movements, Pakistan have dropped two places to seventh while Scotland have overtaken Zimbabwe to 12th position.
Outside the top 20, the biggest rating gains are achieved by Spain (up from 33rd to 30th), Isle of Man (44th to 41st) and Switzerland (50th to 45th).
In all, 86 countries have played at least eight T20Is in the past three years and so earned a ranking. Six countries are no longer ranked: Greece, Mexico, Myanmar and Turkey have played seven T20Is and so will be ranked after their next match, while Belize and Cook Island have played six T20Is, so will be ranked after playing two more matches.
Twisty Freesia
The highest-paid cricketer is India’s Virat Kohli. The New Delhi native is currently captain of the national team. Chikoo earns $4 million a year but rakes in an estimated $24 million in endorsements. He receives sponsorship deals from Audi, Google, Flipkart, and Puma. He is also the sole cricketer to land on Forbes’ list of highest-paid athletes in 2020.
Slug-em-dog
The term “wicket” is used multiple times in cricket. Getting a wicket is dismissing a batsman. Losing a wicket is getting dismissed. A bowler who dismisses a batsman is said to take a wicket. Sometimes, a cricket pitch is called a wicket, although this is considered incorrect by the Laws of Cricket. Regardless, it is still being used, especially by commentators.