South Africa-Australia series could see interesting tussle for second place

• Australia will need to beat South Africa 3-0 or better to clinch $500,000 prize for second place finish at 3 April cut-off date
• Smith can continue scaling new heights; Rabada will be eyeing top spot

India may already have been presented with the ICC Test Championship Mace after being assured of the top place in the MRF Tyres ICC Test Team Rankings at the cut-off date of 3 April but South Africa and Australia feature in a four-Test series from Thursday in what could be an interesting tussle for the second place.

India clinched the $1 million prize money for the second year running and South Africa will be similarly looking to seal the second prize of $500,000, which they are well placed to do. Australia can overtake South Africa if they win 3-0 or better but Australia (104 points) also have the danger of slipping from their third position and seeing either New Zealand or England overtake them as the two sides are scheduled to play a two-Test series that also culminates on 3 April.

Australia could slip to 100 points with a 4-0 loss and to 101 with a 3-0 loss while New Zealand (100) can go up to 104 points with a 2-0 win while a similar comprehensive verdict for England (99) will see them go up to 102 points. The side finishing third gets $200,000 and the fourth team gets $100,000.

Series scenarios:

• South Africa win 4-0 – South Africa 120, Australia 100
• South Africa win 3-0 – South Africa 118, Australia 101
• South Africa win 2-0 or 3-1 – South Africa 117, Australia 102
• South Africa win 1-0 – South Africa 116, Australia 103
• Drawn series – South Africa 114, Australia 106
• Australia win 4-0 – Australia 111, South Africa 108
• Australia win 3-0 – Australia 110, South Africa 110 (behind on decimals)
• Australia win 2-0 or 3-1 – South Africa 111, Australia 109
• Australia win 1-0 – South Africa 112, Australia 109

In the MRF Tyres ICC Test Player Rankings, Australia captain Steve Smith will be looking to further enhance his stature as an all-time great batsman as he would get a chance to improve on his tally of 947 points, which is the second best in the all-time list led by Don Bradman (961) points.

Smith is currently 35 points ahead of second-placed Virat Kohli while vice-captain David Warner has a good opportunity of moving upward from his fifth position. Usman Khawaja (17th) and Shaun Marsh (joint-18th) are the other Australians in the top 20 for batsmen.

Fast bowler Josh Hazlewood leads their list of bowlers in fourth position, off-spinner Nathan Lyon and left-arm pace bowler Mitchell Starc are joint-10th, while Pat Cummins is another bowler who would be looking to move up towards the top 20 from his current 27th spot.

South Africa boast a number of players in the top-20 for both batsmen and bowlers and the home conditions would present them with a chance to improve their rankings.

Hashim Amla leads their list of batsmen in seventh position, with opener Dean Elgar (10th), AB de Villiers (13th) and captain Faf du Plessis (14th) the others in the top 20, while wicketkeeper-batsman Quinton de Kock is in 25th place.

Pace bowler Kagiso Rabada (875 points) would be looking to reclaim the top position among bowlers as he trails England’s James Anderson by just 12 points, while Vernon Philander (791 points) similarly trails India’s Ravichandran Ashwin by 12 points and is currently in sixth position.

Morne Morkel would be looking to sign off on a high as he enters his last Test series in ninth position on 773 points, with Sri Lanka’s Rangana Herath and New Zealand’s Neil Wagner are within 11 points of the pace bowler. Left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj is another of their top-20 bowlers in 19th position.

Series schedule:

1-5 March – 1st Test, Durban
9-13 March – 2nd Test, Port Elizabeth
22-26 March – Cape Town
30 March – 3 April - Johannesburg

The Test team rankings, unlike the ODI and T20I rankings, are updated after the end of the series and the Test predictor function is availablehere.

For more information on player rankings, please click here.

MRF Tyres ICC Test Team Rankings (as of 27 February, before the South Africa-Australia series)

(Developed by David Kendix)

MRF Tyres ICC Test Player Rankings as of 27 February, before the South Africa-Australia ):

Batsmen (top 20) ****

Bowlers (top 20)

All-rounders (top five) ****

*indicates provisional rating; a batsman qualifies for a full rating after playing 40 Test innings; a bowler qualifies for a full rating when he reaches 100 Test wickets.

! indicates career-highest rating

For more information on player rankings, please click here.