At the last ICC ODI Rankings Annual update on May 1, 2017,
ICC ODI World was dominated by the usual names. South Africa occupied the top
spot with 123 points, followed by Australia with 118 points, then India at 117
and New Zealand at 115. England ranked 5th with 109 points, Sri
Lanka 6th with 93, Bangladesh 7th with 91 and Pakistan at
8th with 88 points constituted the list of top 8 ODI sides in the
world.
At exactly the halfway point in ICC ODI Rankings Season
2017-18, it is probably the right time to have a look at how different
International Teams have performed since then. During exactly six months of
this season, the ICC ODI Universe has received a vibrant shake up. To ascertain
the impact of performances of last six months on overall ICC ODI Rankings, let’s
have a supposed scenario.
Let’s assume that no more ODI Cricket will be played between
now and till the next ICC Annual Update on May 1, 2018. What will be ICC ODI
Rankings after that update? If this assumption is applied, England - leapfrogging from the 5th spot - would emerge as the new number 1
team in ICC ODI Rankings with 124 points while Pakistan, who were struggling,
just a couple of months ago, even for the direct qualification for 2019 ICC World
Cup, would jump to number 4 ranking in ICC ODI Ranking.
Australia would drop to number 5 and Sri Lanka, who were at
number 6 with 93 points, would slip to number 8, only 0.6 points ahead of West
Indies who will remain at number 9. This is how much the results of last six
months have remained unconventional and against the trends.
This is how the ICC ODI Rankings would look under the assumption:
All this shift and reshaping in ICC ODI Rankings is based on
unusually good by some teams and, equally, unusually bad performances by some teams.
If the rating points earned by different teams only in this period are
considered, here’s the summary of their performances:
England and Pakistan have been exceptional during this period.
Pakistan have lost only 1 out of their 10 ODIs which was against India, their
first game in Champions Trophy. England have played 14 ODIs in this period and
lost only 2, 1 against Pakistan during Champions Trophy and 1 against South
Africa just before the tournament. India has been a bit patchy. Out of 23 ODIs
India played in this period (the most by any team), they lost 5, 1 each against
Bangladesh and Pakistan in the Champions Trophy, and then 1 each in their ODI
series with the West Indies (away), Australia (home) and New Zealand (home).
Zimbabwe also seems to be on the improvement path. Other
than Pakistan, England, India and South Africa, Zimbabwe is the only team that
has managed to win more matches than they have lost during this period. They
played 7 and won 4. Out of 5 games against Sri Lanka, they won 3 times.
The biggest disappointment of the season has been Australia
who have won only 1 out of their 8 matches during this season. In effect, they
have earned only 84 rating points this season which is pretty unusual for an
Australian side. West Indies has maintained itself, albeit on their
disappointing standard.
But it has been Sri Lanka whose performance have gone from
even worse to painful. During this season, Sri Lanka has played 18 ODIs and
have lost 15 of them. Their only win against a team other than the lower ranked
Zimbabwe was against India during the Champions Trophy. Other than that, they
have mostly remained listless in ODI series against India and Pakistan.
Whatever the results be in the next six months and whatever
the ICC ODI Rankings be after the next ICC Annual Update, one thing is pretty
clear from the results of the first half of this season. That is, the trends
are changing, the ICC ODI Universe is reshaping, and some old mates have
returned to the party to challenge the boys at the top. It’s a refreshing shift
in ODI Cricket that must go on, at least for a while, for its own benefit.