Pakistan move to sixth position in ICC's Test team rankings

[MenInG]

Series sweep helps England move up to No.2, only behind India, while Sri Lanka slip below Pakistan.
England have claimed second position on the MRF Tyres ICC Men’s Test Team Rankings after completing a 3-0 sweep over Sri Lanka in Colombo on Monday.

England had started the series ranked third on 106 points, one point behind South Africa. As the Test team rankings, unlike the ODI and T20I team rankings, are updated at the end of a series, England have finished in second place on 108 points.

In contrast, Sri Lanka, who had entered the series in sixth place on 97 points (two points ahead of seventh-ranked Pakistan), have finished two points behind Pakistan on 93 points after conceding four points.

In the latest table, India (116 points) lead the field. They are followed by England (108), South Africa (106), Australia (102) and New Zealand (101).

With some more mouth-watering Test cricket to take place in the season, there could potentially be a change at the top of the table depending on how Australia and India, and the South Africa and Pakistan series pan out.

If Australia win all four Tests against India, and South Africa beat Pakistan 3-0, then South Africa will be the new No.1-ranked side, ahead of Australia by a fraction of a point. In this scenario, England and India will be equal on 108 points with England ranked above India when the points are calculated beyond the decimal point.

Australia can also top the team rankings, but to make this happen, Tim Paine’s side will have to win all four Tests against India and then hope Pakistan either draw or win a Test against South Africa. If Australia and South Africa win 4-0 and 2-1 respectively, then Australia will be first on 110 points and South Africa will be fourth on 108 points.

However, if India and Pakistan beat Australia and South Africa 4-0 and 3-0 respectively, then India will move to 120 points while retaining the No.1 position, followed by England (108), New Zealand (105, if they draw Pakistan 1-1 and beat Sri Lanka 2-0), Pakistan (103), South Africa (100) and Australia (97).

Ongoing series
Bangladesh v West Indies
Pakistan v New Zealand

Upcoming Test series
Australia v India (4 Tests, 12 December-7 January)
New Zealand v Sri Lanka (2 Tests, 15-30 December)
South Africa v Pakistan (3 Tests, 26 December-15 January)
West Indies v England (3 Tests, 23 January-13 February)
Australia v Sri Lanka (2 Tests, 24 January-5 February)
South Africa v Sri Lanka (2 Tests, 13-25 February)
New Zealand v Bangladesh (3 Tests, 28 February-20 March)

To find out how future results could affect the MRF Tyres ICC Men’s Test Team Rankings, please click here.

MRF Tyres ICC Test Team Rankings (as on 26 November 2019)

Rank Team Points
1 India 116
2 England 108 (+3)
3 South Africa 106
4 New Zealand 102
5 Australia 102
6 Pakistan 95
7 Sri Lanka 97 (-4)
8 West Indies 63
9 Bangladesh 63
10 Zimbabwe 13
11 Afghanistan 0
12 Ireland 0

https://www.icc-cricket.com/media-releases/922180

 

[BreadPakoda]

Congrats. Very unprofessional display by SL. Need a kick on their back side.

 

[Wristy_Shuffler]

There's not much separating the 1-5 teams in Test cricket in the current age which is why it's a shame that the number of Tests played by each of them varies so much. We really should be seeing a greater number of Tests matches outside of 'the big three'. Just feels like we're wasting a load of potential Test thrillers which will never come to pass because of money and politics, etc.

What a shame.

 

[Hitman]

Congrats.

 

[BreadPakoda]

There's not much separating the 1-5 teams in Test cricket in the current age which is why it's a shame that the number of Tests played by each of them varies so much. We really should be seeing a greater number of Tests matches outside of 'the big three'. Just feels like we're wasting a load of potential Test thrillers which will never come to pass because of money and politics, etc.

What a shame.

Agree. The big 3 play a lot of tests. Its the rest of the teams that play lots of 2 match test series which is a shame. Pakistan, for example, hasn't played even a single 5 match series this decade and played lots of two-match test "series". As a result, they have played on 31 tests in comparison to 53 of England.

NZ, Bangladesh, WI, Pakistan, SA need to invite each other more.

 

[Sarwar89]

Agree. The big 3 play a lot of tests. Its the rest of the teams that play lots of 2 match test series which is a shame. Pakistan, for example, hasn't played even a single 5 match series this decade and played lots of two-match test "series". As a result, they have played on 31 tests in comparison to 53 of England.

NZ, Bangladesh, WI, Pakistan, SA need to invite each other more.

Last Time Pakistan played a 5 Match Test Series was in the summer of 1992.

In any case if Pakistan wins Test Series in South Africa they will be ranked either Number 2 or 3.

 

[Mamoon]

The rankings are pretty accurate. India is the best team in the world and England is #2.

Australia and South Africa are better than New Zealand who are better than Pakistan and Sri Lanka, the rightful #6 and #7 teams.

Apart from New Zealand ranking above Australia, they are spot on.

New Zealand have done better than Australia in the UAE, but they have no chance of beating Australia in Australia but the reverse is likely.