Dubai: South Africa has been guaranteed the number-one position on the Reliance ICC Test Championship table at the 1 April cut-off date after victory in the Cape Town Test against Pakistan means it cannot be overtaken by its closest rivals - England, Australia and India.
South Africa had entered the series on 124 ratings points and only needed to draw the series to retain the Test mace. But victory in the Cape Town Test by four wickets means even if it loses the third and final Test at Centurion, it will still gain one ratings point and will finish on 125 ratings points, which will be more than sufficient to give it the top spot at the cut-off date irrespective of how the India-Australia and England-New Zealand series pan out.
If England wins all the three Tests against New Zealand, the maximum it can achieve is 119, while India can rise to as high as 112 (if it defeats Australia 4-0) and Australia can move to 121 (if it wins all four Tests against India).
The Proteas will not only retain the prestigious Test Championship mace but will also earn US$450,000 for this achievement. This is a significant increase in prize money, as, until last year, the side topping the Test or ODI Championship table received US$175,000.
While South Africa has sealed the number-one spot, the battle for second, third and fourth positions is still on, and is not only intense but close, as only 13 ratings points separate second-ranked England from fifth-ranked India.
The side that claims second position at the 1 April cut-off date will earn US$350,000 while the side finishing third will collect US$250,000 and the side ending fourth at the 1 April cut-off date will win US$150,000.
Meanwhile, Pakistan players have gained in the Reliance ICC Test Player Rankings despite suffering defeat against South Africa.
Younus Khan, who scored 111 and 14, has returned to the top 10 in ninth spot after rising two places while Azhar Ali’s total aggregate of 69 runs has earned him 11th spot.
Asad Shafiq, however, is the biggest mover inside the top 50 in the latest player rankings. The 27-year-old from Karachi, who scored 111 and 19, has jumped 12 places to join England’s Ian Bell in 16th position. Asad is now Pakistan’s fourth batsman inside the top 20 as Misbah-ul-Haq is in 12th position (down by two).
South Africa’s Robin Peterson, who scored a crucial 84 in the first innings, has rocketed 44 places to claim 100th position. Faf du Plessis in 33rd (up by one place), Vernon Philander in 85th (up by three places) and Dean Elgar in 86th (up by six places) are the other home side batsmen to make upward movements.
Hashim Amla, who scored 25 and 58, has retained his number-one ranking while fourth-ranked AB de Villiers, who scored 61 and 36, has achieved a career-best rating to date of 851 to lead fifth placed Kumar Sangakkara by nine ratings points but still trails third-ranked Shivnarine Chanderpaul by 28 ratings points. Australia captain Michael Clarke remains second.
In the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Test bowlers, Pakistan’s Saeed Ajmal has returned to the top three in third spot. Saeed had match figures of 10 for 147 for which he has been rewarded with 58 ratings points. This has not only given him a career-best ratings to date of 847 but also a jump of two places.
Saeed now trails second-ranked Philander by 42 ratings points. Philander has collected 32 ratings points for his figures of five for 59 and four for 40. Dale Steyn is sitting on top of the tree, 18 ratings points ahead of his new ball partner.
Pakistan’s Mohammad Irfan, who took three wickets in the first innings of the Cape Town Test, has entered the table in 95th position.
In the Reliance ICC Test Player Rankings for all-rounders, Jacques Kallis has swapped places with Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan, who reclaims the number one position.
The preview of India-Australia Test series will be released on Wednesday.
Forthcoming Tests
22-26 Feb – Third Test, South Africa v Pakistan, Centurion
22-26 Feb – First Test, India v Australia, Chennai
Reliance ICC Test Championship table (before the start of South Africa-Pakistan Test series)
Rank Team Points
1. South Africa 124
2. England 118
3. Australia 117
4. Pakistan 109
5. India 105
6. Sri Lanka 92
7. West Indies 91
8. New Zealand 78
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 Rankings (as on 18 February)
Batsmen
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Ave HS Ranking
1 ( - ) Hashim Amla SA 893 51.75 895 v Pak at Johannesburg 2013
2 ( - ) Michael Clarke Aus 887 52.54 900 v SL at Melbourne 2012
3 ( - ) S.Chanderpaul WI 879 51.67 901 v NZ at Napier 2008
4 ( - ) AB de Villiers SA 851! 49.94 851 v Pak at Cape Town 2013
5 ( - ) K.Sangakkara SL 842 55.80 938 v Eng at Kandy 2007
6 ( - ) Alastair Cook Eng 836 49.42 874 v Ind at Kolkata 2012
7 (+1) Ross Taylor NZ 769 43.57 785 v SL at Colombo (PSS) 2012
8 (-1) Jacques Kallis SA 764 56.10 935 v NZ at Centurion 2007
9 (+2) Younus Khan Pak 763 51.18 880 v SL at Lahore 2009
10 (-1) Kevin Pietersen Eng 759 49.42 909 v WI at Headingley 2007
11 (+1) Azhar Ali Pak 738 43.43 753 v SL at Pallekele 2012
12 (-2) Misbah-ul-Haq Pak 724 44.51 771 v Eng at Abu Dhabi 2012
13 ( - ) Graeme Smith SA 712 48.87 843 v Eng at Johannesburg 2010
14 ( - ) Jonathan Trott Eng 709 49.50 856 v SL at Cardiff 2011
15 ( - ) Matt Prior Eng 693 43.19 698 v Ind at Ahmedabad 2012
16= ( - ) Ian Bell Eng 680 46.71 822 v Ind at The Oval 2011
(+12) Asad Shafiq Pak 680*! 43.24 680 v SA at Cape Town 2013
18 (-1) Marlon Samuels WI 668! 37.36 668 v Ban at Khulna 2012
19 (-1) Darren Bravo WI 661* 46.77 709 v Aus at Port-of-Spain 2012
20 (-1) Sachin Tendulkar Ind 653 54.32 898 v Zim at Nagpur 2002
Bowlers
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Ave HS Ranking
1 ( - ) Dale Steyn SA 907 22.68 908 v Pak at Johannesburg 2013
2 ( - ) Vernon Philander SA 889*! 16.81 889 v Pak at Cape Town 2013
3 (+2) Saeed Ajmal Pak 847! 27.03 847 v SA at Cape Town 2013
4 (-1) Rangana Herath SL 809 29.95 838 v NZ at Colombo (PSS) 2012
5 (-1) Peter Siddle Aus 800 28.51 806 v SL at Hobart 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 ( - ) Pragyan Ojha Ind 739* 31.62 773 v Eng at Kolkata 2012
9 ( - ) Morne Morkel SA 722 29.97 776 v Aus at Cape Town 2011
10 ( - ) Ben Hilfenhaus Aus 721* 28.50 757 v WI at Port-of-Spain 2012
11 ( - ) Kemar Roach WI 698* 27.69 712 v NZ at Kingston 2012
12 ( - ) Abdur Rehman Pak 690* 28.40 739 v Eng at Dubai 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 606 33.81 669 v SA at Hamilton 2012
18 ( - ) Mitchell Johnson Aus 600 30.63 825 v Eng at Cardiff 2009
19 ( - ) Umar Gul Pak 575 34.06 642 v Eng at Dubai 2012
20 ( - ) R.Ashwin Ind 566* 32.41 595 v Eng at Ahmedabad 2012
All-rounders
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts HS Ranking
1 (+1) Shakib Al Hasan Ban 387 404 v Pak at Mirpur 2011
2 (-1) Jacques Kallis SA 382 616 v Pak at Durban 2002
3 ( - ) Shane Watson Aus 308 /* 394 v SA at Johannesburg 2011
4 ( - ) Graeme Swann Eng 288 327 v Ban at Chittagong 2010
5 ( - ) Daniel Vettori NZ 285 412 v Pak at Napier 2009