Australia reclaim No.1 Test spot, India second

Dubai, 24 February। Australia has regained the prestigious ICC Test Mace and has also won a cash award of $1million after winning the Christchurch Test by seven wickets, which has given it a 2-0 series win against New Zealand.

The result means Australia has finished two points ahead of India on 112 points in the final series before the 1 April cut-off date. Steve Smith will receive the Mace and the cash award on behalf of his team in a ceremony to be held at a later date. 

This is the eighth time Australia has finished as the number-one ranked Test side at the annual cut-off date since the inception of the current rankings system in 2003. It had earlier topped the table each year from 2003 to 2009, before India claimed number-one spots in 2010 and 2011. England ended as the number-one ranked side in 2012 before South Africa completed a hat-trick by retaining the top spot from 2013 to 2015.

India, by virtue of finishing second, will collect $500K, while South Africa will pocket $200K and Pakistan $100K after claiming third and fourth positions, respectively. 

It is a double delight for Smith’s men who had earlier topped the ICC ODI Team Rankings at the annual cut-off date. It had finished comfortably ahead of second-placed New Zealand, followed by India, South Africa, Sri Lanka and England. 

On the ICC T20I Team Rankings, India leads the field with South Africa occupying second position following its 2-0 win over England. The two are followed by the West Indies, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, England and Australia. 

A shuffling of the pack is on the cards as a lot of cricket in the shortest format of the game is still to be played before the 1 April cut-off date. While the main round of the Asia Cup T20 will be played from 24 February to 6 March in Mirpur, the ICC World Twenty20 India 2016 will be staged from 8 March to 3 April. 

ICC Test Rankings

RANK TEAM           POINTS

1          Australia          112

2          India                110

3          South Africa     109

4          Pakistan           106

5          England            102

6          New Zealand     96

7          Sri Lanka          89

8          West Indies      76

9          Bangladesh      47

10        Zimbabwe        05

ICC ODI Rankings (as of 24 February) 

RANK TEAM           POINTS

1          Australia          126

2          New Zealand    114

3          India                113

4          South Africa     112

5          Sri Lanka         104

6          England           101

7          Bangladesh       97

8          Pakistan           87

9          West Indies      86

10        Afghanistan      47

11        Ireland             46

12        Zimbabwe        45 

ICC T20I Rankings (as of 24 February, after the Asia Cup qualifying matches)

RANK TEAM           POINTS

1          India                122

2          South Africa     119

3          West Indies      118

4          New Zealand     116

5          Sri Lanka          116

6          Pakistan           113

7          England            112

8          Australia           110

9          Afghanistan       77

10        Scotland            69

11        Bangladesh       64

12        Netherlands       59

13        Zimbabwe         54

14        Hong Kong       49

15        Ireland            48

16        UAE               42

17        Oman             32

Source: ICC