ICC Test Championship preview: England must win 2-0 to improve its rating
| Position (prev pos in brackets) | Team | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| 1 (1) | Australia | 129 |
| 2 (2) | South Africa | 115 |
| 3 (3) | New Zealand | 103 |
| 4 (4) | Sri Lanka | 101 |
| 5 (5) | England | 97 |
| 6 (6) | India | 91 |
| 7 (8) | Pakistan | 91 |
| 8 (7) | West Indies | 79 |
| 9 (9) | Zimbabwe | 59 |
| 10 (10) | Bangladesh | 4 |
Full scenarios for England v Zimbabwe Test series:
England | Zimbabwe | |
Rating | Rating | |
| Current rating | 97 | 59 |
| New rating if: | ||
| - England wins by 2 Tests (2-0) | 98 | 58 |
| - England wins by 1 Test | 97 | 60 |
| - Series tied (0-0 or 1-1) | 95 | 63 |
| - Zimbabwe wins by 1 Test (1-0) | 93 | 66 |
| - Zimbabwe wins by 2 Tests (2-0) | 92 | 67 |
Clive Lloyd from the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Referees will officiate on the series. David Orchard from the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Umpires will stand in both matches alongside Steve Bucknor in the first Test and Darrell Hair in the second Test.
Explanation of the ICC Test Championship:
The new ICC Test Championship takes into account the result of every individual Test Match with a bonus awarded for winning a series. It also recognises the strength of the opposition in calculating the points awarded.
The system means that there are no longer any `dead rubber' Test Matches and that in any series both teams have the opportunity to improve or worsen their rating.
The ICC Test Championship reflects performances in all Tests completed since a given date (currently 1st August 1999), in contrast to the previous system which included some series played in 1996/97 yet excluded some more recent series. More recent matches have a stronger weighting and the rankings are refreshed every August.
A rating of 100 reflects average performance, so a team winning and losing a similar number of matches and playing a broad mix of opponents will have a rating close to 100.
For the up-to-date ICC Test Championship table plus full scenarios for forthcoming series and details of the formula for calculating ratings visit the official ICC website www.icc.cricket.org.
| Brendan McClements | Jon Long |
| General Manager - Corporate Affairs | Project Officer - Corporate Affairs |
| Mobile: + 44 (0) 7786 194974 | Mobile: + 44 (0) 7946 545090 |
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