Here’s the last in the series of Annual ICC Team Rankings Update for 2019 – a prospective view of Test Rankings after this year’s update cycle.
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In terms of Team Rankings, there will be minimal possible change in it after this year’s update.
- Only two out of 10 teams will swap places.
- Test Rankings of 8 teams will remain unchanged.
- Only Australia will be replaced at number 4 by England – currently ranked 5 in the table.
India will remain the top ranked Test side in the world, followed by New Zealand and South Africa. No change is expected in the top 3. Similarly, no change is expected in the ranking of teams currently ranked 6 or lower.
In terms of Ratings, though, there will be some interesting developments in the table without resulting a change in the rankings of the teams:
- New Zealand, currently ranked number 2 Test side in the world, is expected to reduce the distance from the top ranked, India, to one-third of the current lead.
- West Indies is expected to reduce the distance between them and Pakistan, at number 7, from a gap of almost 11 rating points to just a single point.
- Australia is expected to be the biggest loser of this year’s update. Pakistan and India are expected to be the next worst effectees but they will manage to hold on to their current rankings.
At the top of the table, India will manage to preserve its pole position but they are expected to face a significant dent to their lead ahead of their closest challenger. At the moment, India are 8.26 rating points ahead of New Zealand. At the end of the update cycle, that gap is expected to be reduced to around 3 rating points only.
Similarly, South Africa, currently ranked number 3 in the table, are also expected to reduce their current gap, of almost 4 rating points, by half.
West Indies are expected to benefit the most from this year’s update as they are expected to gain more than 5 rating points. Although, there will be no change in their ranking, at the end of this year’s update, West Indies are expected to reduce the lead between them and the team above them, Pakistan, significantly. Pakistan are currently 10.8 rating points ahead of West Indies in the table. At the end of this year’s update, that lead will be reduced to just a single point.
Australians are expected to lose 6.12 rating points. Currently, they are fractionally ahead of number 5 ranked England who are expected to gain 1 point. As a result, Australia will slip to number 5 with a gap of 7 rating points with England at number 4.
Pakistan is expected to lose about 4.5 points but will manage to hold on to their current ranking thanks to their significant lead of 10+ rating points ahead of West Indies in the current table. Similarly, India is expected to lose more than 2.5 rating points but they will also manage to maintain their ranking thanks to their significant lead of 8+ rating points ahead of New Zealand.
In a nutshell, here is how the changes due to this year’s annual update will reflect on ICC Test Team Rankings.
Note: All the calculations are based on publicly available information including ICC’s Team Rankings calculation formula and match result, and are subject to minor variation from Official ICC update.
Juxtaposition of CRICKET and Kamran Muzaffer brings out krick3r. A techie by qualification, a business manager by profession - yet, a cricket enthusiast by heart.