Plenty at stake as England and Australia go head to head in ODI series
Strauss's men can move ahead of their visitors if they win 5-2 or better while Ponting's side can reclaim number-one position in the Reliance Mobile ICC ODI Championship
Ideal opportunity for both sides to prepare for this month's ICC Champions Trophy
After consigning Australia to its lowest Test ranking to date, England can leapfrog its old foe in the Reliance Mobile ICC ODI Championship table as the two sides go head to head in the seven-match ODI series which gets underway at The Oval on Friday.
Australia currently occupies third place on the ladder with 119 ratings points, leading fourth-placed England by eight points. South Africa is in number-one position on 127 ratings points followed by India on 126.
However, England can move ahead of Australia if it wins the series 7-0, 6-1 or 5-2. As the ODI table is updated after every match, England can overtake Australia as early as Sunday if it wins both the ODIs in London.
If the home side wins the series 7-0, it will vault to 125 ratings points while Australia will fall to 107 ratings points and possibly as low as seventh place in the table, depending how the tri-nation series in Sri Lanka to be played from 8 to 14 September pans out. A 5-2 series result in England's favour will put it on 118 ratings points and four ahead of Australia.
There is opportunity for the visitor, too, as Australia can regain the number-one spot from South Africa. But for this to happen, it will not only have to win all the matches against England but will also require either New Zealand or Sri Lanka to beat India at least once in Colombo.
Nevertheless, if India wins all the three matches in Sri Lanka and irrespective of the outcome of the England and Australia series, Mahendra Singh Dhoni's side will go on top of the table for the first time since the rankings were introduced in October 2002. So it's all to play for.
While this is an ideal opportunity for the England and Australia to make upward movements in the championship table, it is also an excellent chance for them to make their final preparations for this month's ICC Champions Trophy to be staged in South Africa from 22 September to 5 October.
Australia will defend the title it won at the Cricket Club of India in October 2006 by defeating the West Indies while England's best finish was in 2004 when it had reached the final.
Below follows a table of England-Australia ODI series scenarios:
| Australia | England | South Africa | |
| Current | 119 | 111 | 127 |
| England wins 7-0 | 107 | 125 | |
| England wins 6-1 | 110 | 121 | |
| England wins 5-2 | 114 | 118 | |
| England wins 4-3 | 117 | 114 | |
| Australia wins 7-0 | 128 | 101 | |
| Australia wins 6-1 | 126 | 104 | |
| Australia wins 5-2 | 123 | 107 | |
| Australia wins 4-3 | 120 | 111 |
In the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for ODI batsmen, Australia boasts three players in the top 20 while England?s highest-ranked batsman is Paul Collingwood in 28th spot with Owais Shah occupying 38th place and captain Andrew Strauss holding 54th position.
Australia?s left-hander Mike Hussey is just behind India?s second-placed Yuvraj Singh while 11th-placed Michael Clarke and 15th-ranked Ricky Ponting are breathing down the necks of batsmen ahead of them. Good performances by the trio could potentially help them improve their current rankings.
In the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for ODI bowlers, new-ball partners Nathan Bracken and Mitchell Johnson hold the sixth and seventh positions respectively while Stuart Broad of England is in eighth place. Australia?s James Hopes is just outside the top 10 in 12th position.
The bowlers? list is headed by Sri Lanka?s Nuwan Kulasekara with New Zealand pair of Kyle Mills and Daniel Vettori in second and third positions.
In the absence of Andrew Flintoff, Hopes is the highest-ranked all-rounder from either side. He sits just outside the top five in sixth position, one point behind fifth-ranked Yuvraj Singh of India, three points behind fourth-placed Jacques Kallis of South Africa and six points behind third-ranked Jacob Oram of New Zealand.
Bangladesh?s Shakib Al Hasan leads the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for ODI all-rounders.
The following is the ODI series schedule:
4 Sep ? England v Australia, The Oval
6 Sep ? England v Australia, Lord?s
9 Sep ? England v Australia, Southampton
12 Sep ? England v Australia, Lord?s
15 Sep ? England v Australia, Nottingham
17 Sep ? England v Australia, Nottingham
20 Sep ? England v Australia, Chester-le-Street
For more information go to www.reliancemobileiccrankings.com.
Reliance Mobile ICC ODI Championship (as of 2 September, prior to England and Australia ODI series)
| Rank | Team | Rating |
| 1 | South Africa | 127 |
| 2 | India | 126 |
| 3 | Australia | 119 |
| 4 | England | 111 |
| 5 | New Zealand | 110 |
| 6 | Pakistan | 109 |
| 7 | Sri Lanka | 104 |
| 8 | West Indies | 78 |
| 9 | Bangladesh | 55 |
| 10 | Zimbabwe | 26 |
| 11 | Ireland | 25 |
| 12 | Kenya | 0 |
| ICC One-Day Rankings (as of 2 September, before the start of England and Australia) | ||||
| Batsmen | ||||
| Rank | Player | Team | Points | HS Rating |
| 1 | MS Dhoni | Ind | 828 | 828 v WI at St Lucia 2009 |
| 2 | Yuvraj Singh | Ind | 784 | 794 v WI at Kingston 2009 |
| 3 | Mike Hussey | Aus | 767 | 863 v NZ at Perth 2007 |
| 4 | S.Chanderpaul | WI | 759 | 793 v Eng at Guyana 2009 |
| 5 | Chris Gayle | WI | 756 | 804 v Aus at Mumbai 2006 |
| 6 | AB de Villiers | SA | 752 | 753 v Aus at Port Elizabeth 2009 |
| 7 | Virender Sehwag | Ind | 732 | 774 v NZ at Auckland 2003 |
| 8 | Graeme Smith | SA | 731 | 792 v Ban at Dhaka 2008 |
| 9 | Herschelle Gibbs | SA | 712 | 750 v SL at Durban 2003 |
| 10 | Jacques Kallis | SA | 707 | 816 v WI at Johannesburg 2004 |
| Bowlers | ||||
| Rank | Player | Team | Points | HS Rating |
| 1 | N. Kulasekara | SL | 730 | 749 v Pak at Lahore 2009 |
| 2 | Kyle Mills | NZ | 697 | 723 v Aus at Melbourne 2009 |
| 3 | Daniel Vettori | NZ | 694 | 790 v Eng at Christchurch 2008 |
| 4 | Shakib Al Hasan | Ban | 686 | 709 v Zim at Bulawayo 2009 |
| 5 | M. Muralidaran | SL | 680 | 913 v NZ at Sharjah 2002 |
| 6 | Nathan Bracken | Aus | 677 | 806 v SL at St George's 2007 |
| 7 | Mitchell Johnson | Aus | 672 | 726 v Ban at Darwin 2008 |
| 8 | Stuart Broad | Eng | 660 | 701 v SA at Trent Bridge 2008 |
| 9 | Andrew Flintoff | Eng | 656 | 755 v Ban at Dhaka 2003 |
| 10 | Johan Botha | SA | 655 | 664 v Aus at Centurion 2009 |
| All-rounders | ||||
| Rank | Player | Team | Points | HS Rating |
| 1 | Shakib Al Hasan Ban | Ban | 427 | 451 v Zim at Bulawayo 2009 |
| 2 | Andrew Flintoff | Eng | 343 | 544 v SL at The Rose Bowl 2004 |
| 3 | Jacob Oram | NZ | 335 | 383 v WI at Queenstown 2008 |
| 4 | Jacques Kallis | SA | 332 | 505 v WI at Bridgetown 2001 |
| 5 | Yuvraj Singh | Ind | 330 | 348 v NZ at Hamilton 2009 |
*Indicates a provisional rating
For more information go to www.reliancemobileiccrankings.com.
