South Africa look to strengthen No. 1 Test ranking
Dubai, Dec 31 (IBNS)
South Africa will begin the New Year by aiming to strengthen its number-one status on the Reliance ICC Test Championship Table, when it plays a two-match series against New Zealand from Jan 2 at Cape Town.
South Africa currently leads the Reliance ICC Test Championship Table with 123 ratings points and have a five point lead over second-placed England. Graeme Smith's side retained the Reliance ICC Test Championship Mace in December 2012 after it defeated Australia 1-0.
For South Africa to retain the number-one spot, it just needs a 0-0 result or better in the two-match series against New Zealand. South Africa could at best gain one ratings point for winning the series 2-0, but could lose one point if it wins the series 1-0.
In the event of the series ending at 1-1, South Africa would drop down to 119 points, just one ahead of England, currently placed at 118.
But if South Africa was to lose the Test series against New Zealand 0-1, it would also lose the top position to England - dropping seven points in the process to end on 116. Then, South Africa's final position on the table will depend on the result in the Australia-Sri Lanka series.
Australia currently leads the series 2-0 and it could gain three ratings points to end at 117 if it wins the third Test starting in Sydney from 3 January. New Zealand on the other hand would remain at number eight on the table but would gain seven ratings point to finish at 86.
In the event of South Africa losing both its Tests against New Zealand it would lose eight ratings points to fall to 115 ratings points to finish third on the table. A 2-0 win for New Zealand would push it up to 88 points but it would remain in eighth place on the Reliance ICC Test Championship table.
Pertinently, South Africa has an opportunity to not just make a strong start to its home season, which also features three Tests against Pakistan in February 2013, but also stake a claim to be the number-one ranked team at the 1 April 2013 cut-off date.
This would mean that it could be in line for the increased prize money on offer for the top-ranked side on the cut-off date.
A total of US USD 3.8m in prize money will be shared among the top four sides on 1 April 2013, 2014 and 2015, after the ICC Board approved a proposal earlier this year to substantially increase incentives in the form of prize money to promote Test cricket in the period leading up to the ICC Test Championship event in 2017.
Previously, the top team in the Reliance ICC Test rankings received a cheque for USD 175,000,but, from 2013, it will receive a minimum of USD 450,000, rising to USD 500,000 in 2015. From 2016 there will be further increases in Test prize money.
Upcoming Fixtures
South Africa v New Zealand
2-6 Jan-1st Test, Cape Town
11-15 Jan-2nd Test, Port Elizabeth
Australia v Sri Lanka
3-7 Jan - 3rd Test, Sydney
Reliance ICC Test Championship table (before the South Africa-New Zealand Test series)
Rank Team Points
1. South Africa 123
2. England 118
3. Australia 114
4. Pakistan 109
5. India 105
6. Sri Lanka 96
7. West Indies 91
8. New Zealand 79
9. Bangladesh 0
Zimbabwe is currently unranked, as it has played insufficient matches. It has 167 points and a rating of 42.
(Developed by David Kendix)
Reliance ICC Test Player Rankings (as on 29 December after Melbourne Test)
Batsmen
Rank Player Team Pts Ave HS Ranking
1 Michael Clarke Aus 900! 52.74 900 v SL at Melbourne 2012
2 S.Chanderpaul WI 879 51.67 901 v NZ at Napier 2008
3 Hashim Amla SA 875 50.69 876 v Aus at Brisbane 2012
4 K Sangakkara SL 850 55.80 938 v Eng at Kandy 2007
5 Alastair Cook Eng 836 49.42 874 v Ind at Kolkata 2012
6 Jacques Kallis SA 823 56.92 935 v NZ at Centurion 2007
7 AB de Villiers SA 808 49.11 821 v Eng at The Oval 2012
8 Ross Taylor NZ 785! 43.57 785 v SL at Colombo (PSS) 2012
9 Mike Hussey Aus 762 51.52 921 v WI at Kingston 2008
10 Younus Khan Pak 761 51.69 880 v SL at Lahore 2009
11 Kevin Pietersen Eng 759 49.42 909 v WI at Headingley 2007
12 Azhar Ali Pak 753! 45.27 753 v SL at Pallekele 2012
13 Graeme Smith SA 749 49.53 843 v Eng at Johannesburg 2010
14 Misbah-ul-Haq Pak 720 45.68 771 v Eng at Abu Dhabi 2012
15 Jonathan Trott Eng 709 49.50 856 v SL at Cardiff 2011
16 Matt Prior Eng 693 43.19 698 v Ind at Ahmedabad 2012
17 Ian Bell Eng 680 46.71 822 v Ind at The Oval 2011
18 Marlon Samuels WI 668! 37.36 668 v Ban at Khulna 2012
19 Darren Bravo WI 661* 46.77 709 v Aus at Port-of-Spain 2012
20 T Samaraweera SL 659 49.54 775 v SA at Cape Town 2012
Bowlers
Rank Player Team Pts Ave HS Ranking
1 Dale Steyn SA 880 23.79 902 v SL at Centurion 2011
2 Vernon Philander SA 838* 17.98 852 v Eng at Lord's 2012
3 Saeed Ajmal Pak 832 27.09 836 v SL at Galle 2012
4 Peter Siddle Aus 804 28.50 806 v SL at Hobart 2012
5 Rangana Herath SL 793 30.33 838 v NZ at Colombo (PSS) 2012
6 James Anderson Eng 759 30.39 813 v Ind at Edgbaston 2011
7 Graeme Swann Eng 755 29.13 858 v Pak at Lord's 2010
8 Morne Morkel SA 745 30.20 776 v Aus at Cape Town 2011
9 Pragyan Ojha Ind 739* 31.62 773 v Eng at Kolkata 2012
10 Ben Hilfenhaus Aus 729* 28.50 757 v WI at Port-of-Spain 2012
11 Abdur Rehman Pak 704* 28.40 739 v Eng at Dubai 2012
12 Kemar Roach WI 698* 27.69 712 v NZ at Kingston 2012
13 Stuart Broad Eng 657 31.93 783 v WI at Lord's 2012
14 Shakib Al Hasan Ban 641 32.53 680 v WI at Mirpur 2011
15 Zaheer Khan Ind 625 32.35 752 v SA at Durban 2010
16 Steven Finn Eng 611* 28.22 621 v SA at Lord's 2012
17 Chris Martin NZ 604 33.97 669 v SA at Hamilton 2012
18 Mitchell Johnson Aus 602 30.63 825 v Eng at Cardiff 2009
19 Umar Gul Pak 584 33.66 642 v Eng at Dubai 2012
20 Tim Southee NZ 572*! 35.04 572 v SL at Colombo (PSS) 2012
All-rounders
Rank Player Team Pts HS Ranking
1 Jacques Kallis SA 388 616 v Pak at Durban 2002
2 Shakib Al Hasan Ban 387 404 v Pak at Mirpur 2011
3 Shane Watson Aus 315/* 394 v SA at Johannesburg 2011
4 Daniel Vettori NZ 296 412 v Pak at Napier 2009
5 Graeme Swann Eng 288 327 v Ban at Chittagong 2010