The battle for second place on the Reliance ICC Test Championship Table is still a three-way race between England, Australia and India. This is despite the fact that England was held to a draw by New Zealand in Dunedin and India leads Australia 2-0 in the four-Test series.
The three sides are currently separated by 13 ratings points on the Championship table which will be updated at the conclusion of India-Australia and New Zealand-England Test series on 26 March and will also reflect results from West Indies-Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka-Bangladesh series.
England’s hard-fought draw means it still needs to win the series against New Zealand to seal second place. However, if New Zealand draws or wins the series against England, it could potentially the door for both Australia and India.
If New Zealand wins or draws the series, then India will claim the second spot if it wins the remaining two Tests against Australia. On the other side of the coin, if New Zealand wins or draws the series and Michael Clarke’s side bounces back to level the series then Australia will move ahead of England in second spot.
South Africa has already sealed its position as the number-one ranked Test side at the 1 April cut-off date, which means it has not only retained the Test mace but has also been assured of a reward of US$450,000.
But a further US$750,000 is still up for grabs. This money will be distributed to teams that will finish second (US$350,000), third (US$250,000) and fourth (US$150,000) on the Championship table at the cut-off date.
The increased incentive in the form of prize money was approved by the ICC Board in 2012 and was aimed to promote Test cricket in the period before the ICC Test Championship event in 2017.
To find out exactly how the forthcoming series will affect the Championship Table, please click here. The Test Championship table is updated after every series, unlike the ODI or T20I Championship tables, which are updated after every match.
Mushfiqur leads Bangladesh charge
Meanwhile, Bangladesh’s first double centurion in Test cricket, captain Mushfiqur Rahim, leads the charge in the latest Reliance ICC Test Player Rankings, which were released on Wednesday.
Mushfiqur Rahim has jumped five places to 36th position in the batting list after slamming 200 in Bangladesh’s first draw against Sri Lanka in Test cricket, at Galle.
Of the other Bangladesh centurions in the Galle Test, Nasir Hossain has jumped nine places to 44th, while Mohammad Ashraful has re-entered the rankings in 63rd position.
Other centurions in the Galle Test, Tillakaratne Dilshan in 28th (up by one), Dinesh Chandimal in 40th (up by seven) and Lahiru Thirimanne in 76th (up by 11) have also gained in the latest rankings.
Kumar Sangakkara, who slammed a century in each innings (142 and 105), has stayed in fifth position but has narrowed the gap with Shivnarine Chanderpaul of the West Indies and South Africa’s AB de Villiers who are jointly occupying third position.
The latest rankings also include changes post the Dunedin Test between New Zealand and England.
New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum has jumped four places to 26th, home side’s debutant centurion Hamish Rutherford has entered in 58th position, while England’s Nick Compton has risen 13 places to 70th thanks to his maiden century.
The batting table is still headed by South Africa’s Hashim Amla with Australia captain Michael Clarke in second place.
In the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Test bowlers, New Zealand’s Neil Wagner, with a match haul of seven for 183, has jumped 30 places to 69th in what was the most impressive movement in the table.
The bowlers’ table is still headed by South Africa’s Dale Steyn with his teammate Vernon Philander in second place and Pakistan’s Saeed Ajmal in third place.
Reliance ICC Test Player Rankings
Batsmen
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Ave HS Ranking
1 ( – ) Hashim Amla SA 903! 52.11 903 v Pak at Centurion 2013
2 ( – ) Michael Clarke Aus 890 52.97 900 v SL at Melbourne 2012
3= ( – ) S.Chanderpaul WI 879 51.67 901 v NZ at Napier 2008
( – ) AB de Villiers SA 879! 50.50 879 v Pak at Centurion 2013
5 ( – ) K Sangakkara SL 850 56.54 938 v Eng at Kandy 2007
6 ( – ) Alastair Cook Eng 834 49.60 874 v Ind at Kolkata 2012
7 ( – ) Ross Taylor NZ 761 43.40 785 v SL at Colombo (PSS) 2012
8 (+1) Jacques Kallis SA 756 56.10 935 v NZ at Centurion 2007
9 (+1) Younus Khan Pak 748 50.74 880 v SL at Lahore 2009
10 (+1) C Pujara Ind 740*! 67.80 740 v Aus at Hyderabad 2013
11 (-3) Kevin Pietersen Eng 724 48.85 909 v WI at Headingley 2007
12 ( – ) Azhar Ali Pak 713 42.26 753 v SL at Pallekele 2012
13 ( – ) Jonathan Trott Eng 707 49.46 856 v SL at Cardiff 2011
14 ( – ) Graeme Smith SA 696 48.62 843 v Eng at Johannesburg 2010
15 ( – ) Matt Prior Eng 690 43.23 698 v Ind at Ahmedabad 2012
16 ( – ) Misbah-ul-Haq Pak 687 43.19 771 v Eng at Abu Dhabi 2012
17 ( – ) Ian Bell Eng 679 46.73 822 v Ind at The Oval 2011
18 ( – ) Marlon Samuels WI 668! 37.36 668 v Ban at Khulna 2012
19= ( – ) S Tendulkar Ind 661 54.29 898 v Zim at Nagpur 2002
( – ) Darren Bravo WI 661* 46.77 709 v Aus at Port-of-Spain 2012
Selected Rankings
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Ave HS Ranking
26 (+4) B McCullum NZ 612 35.45 673 v Pak at Hamilton 2011
28 (+1) T Dilshan SL 610 41.17 700 v Ind at Ahmedabad 2009
29 (-2) Angelo Mathews SL 607 40.30 651 v Aus at Hobart 2012
36 (+5) M Rahim Ban 567 31.91 584 v Eng at Chittagong 2010
38 (-1) Kane Williamson NZ 542* 30.10 578 v SL at Colombo (PSS) 2012
40 (+7) D Chandimal SL 518*! 53.44 518 v Ban at Galle 2013
43 (-1) Dean Brownlie NZ 502* 33.76 503 v SA at Port Elizabeth 2013
44 (+9) Nasir Hossain Ban 499*! 47.66 499 v SL at Galle 2013
58 (NEW) H Rutherford NZ 420*! 171.00 420 v Eng at Dunedin 2013
61 (-4) B-J Watling NZ 407* 31.05 426 v SA at Port Elizabeth 2013
63 (RE) M Ashraful Ban 404 24.36 491 v SL at Colombo (PSS) 2007
65 (-4) Stuart Broad Eng 400 25.74 505 v Ind at The Oval 2011
67 (-6) Mahmudullah Ban 391* 30.85 445 v NZ at Hamilton 2010
70 (+13) Nick Compton Eng 381*! 40.62 381 v NZ at Dunedin 2013
76 (+11) L Thirimanne SL 359*! 34.20 359 v Ban at Galle 2013
87 (-10) Abul Hasan Ban 293* 136.00 334 v WI at Khulna 2012
90 (NEW) Mominul Haque Ban 277*! 55.00 277 v SL at Galle 2013
92 (NEW) Bruce Martin NZ 271*! 41.00 271 v Eng at Dunedin 2013
93= (+2) Tim Southee NZ 269* 18.93 289 v Zim at Napier 2012
(-4) D Karunaratne SL 269* 27.11 280 v Aus at Sydney 2013
Bowlers
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Ave HS Ranking
1 ( – ) Dale Steyn SA 905 22.65 908 v Pak at Johannesburg 2013
2 ( – ) Vernon Philander SA 890*! 17.13 890 v Pak at Centurion 2013
3 ( – ) Saeed Ajmal Pak 819 27.60 847 v SA at Cape Town 2013
4 ( – ) Rangana Herath SL 783 30.57 838 v NZ at Colombo (PSS) 2012
5 ( – ) Peter Siddle Aus 762 29.25 806 v SL at Hobart 2012
6 ( – ) James Anderson Eng 757 30.44 813 v Ind at Edgbaston 2011
7 ( – ) Graeme Swann Eng 747 29.13 858 v Pak at Lord’s 2010
8 ( – ) R Ashwin Ind 734*! 28.93 734 v Aus at Hyderabad 2013
9 ( – ) Pragyan Ojha Ind 724* 31.62 773 v Eng at Kolkata 2012
10 ( – ) Morne Morkel SA 715 29.97 776 v Aus at Cape Town 2011
11 ( – ) Ben Hilfenhaus Aus 707* 28.50 757 v WI at Port-of-Spain 2012
12 ( – ) Kemar Roach WI 698* 27.69 712 v NZ at Kingston 2012
13 ( – ) Abdur Rehman Pak 683* 28.40 739 v Eng at Dubai 2012
14 ( – ) Stuart Broad Eng 650 32.06 783 v WI at Lord’s 2012
15 ( – ) Shakib Al Hasan Ban 635 32.53 680 v WI at Mirpur 2011
16 ( – ) Zaheer Khan Ind 612 32.35 752 v SA at Durban 2010
17 (+1) Chris Martin NZ 600 33.81 669 v SA at Hamilton 2012
18 (+1) Mitchell Johnson Aus 588 30.63 825 v Eng at Cardiff 2009
19 (-2) Steven Finn Eng 578* 29.26 621 v SA at Lord’s 2012
20 ( – ) James Pattinson Aus 573*! 22.41 573 v Ind at Hyderabad 2013
Selected Rankings
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Ave HS Ranking
24 (-2) Tim Southee NZ 536* 36.62 572 v SL at Colombo (PSS) 2012
30 (-2) Monty Panesar Eng 506 32.95 721 v WI at Chester-le-St 2007
39 (RE) Ajantha Mendis SL 422* 34.20 572 v Ban at Chittagong 2009
44 ( – ) N Kulasekara SL 381* 36.18 413 v NZ at Colombo (PSS) 2012
56 (-1) S Hossain Ban 313* 51.90 438 v Ind at Chittagong 2010
58 (-4) Sohag Gazi Ban 304* 41.06 327 v WI at Mirpur 2012
61 (+1) T Dilshan SL 289*! 42.89 289 v Ban at Galle 2013
65 (+2) Mahmudullah Ban 257* 43.96 381 v WI at St George’s 2009
66 (-1) S Eranga SL 252* 38.94 256 v NZ at Galle 2012
69 (+30) Neil Wagner NZ 235*! 43.91 235 v Eng at Dunedin 2013
70 (RE) Elias Sunny Ban 227* 43.16 332 v Pak at Chittagong 2011
78 (-3) Suranga Lakmal SL 163* 62.25 262 v Aus at Pallekele 2011
80 (NEW) Bruce Martin NZ 162*! 26.60 162 v Eng at Dunedin 2013
84 (-5) Rubel Hossain Ban 145* 78.90 146 v WI at Khulna 2012
89 (RE) M Ashraful Ban 121* 62.05 148 v WI at Kingstown 2009
91 (-5) Angelo Mathews SL 104* 72.09 110 v Pak at Colombo (SSC) 2009
95 (-5) Kane Williamson NZ 92* 56.75 138 v WI at Kingston 2012
All-rounders
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts HS Ranking
1 ( – ) Shakib Al Hasan Ban 379 404 v Pak at Mirpur 2011
2 ( – ) Jacques Kallis SA 374 616 v Pak at Durban 2002
3 ( – ) R Ashwin Ind 333*/*! 333 v Aus at Hyderabad 2013
4 ( – ) Vernon Philander SA 312*/*! 312 v Pak at Centurion 2013
5 ( – ) Graeme Swann Eng 282 327 v Ban at Chittagong 2010
