Test opportunity for West Indies in Zimbabwe
The West Indies will be looking to make optimum use of the conditions during an upcoming two-Test series against Zimbabwe, knowing they will be visiting the country again in March for the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2018.
Picking up that valuable experience in the two Tests in Bulawayo, as well as the chance for players to improve their individual rankings will be incentive enough for the Windies to do well, even though they may not have much to gain in the ICC Test Team Rankings.
The West Indies, ranked eighth in Tests, missed out on direct qualification to the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 as they were ranked ninth in ODIs at the cut-off date of 30 September but they would be looking to build on the promise showed in the Test series in England which they lost 2-1.
ALSO READ: Taylor and Jarvis in Zimbabwe side to face West Indies
As for the points at stake, the Windies can at best gain one point with a 2-0 win to go up to 76 points while a 1-0 series victory will see it remain at 75 points and eighth place. However, even a drawn series could see it slip behind Bangladesh on decimal points. On the other hand, Zimbabwe can move up to 21 points with a 2-0 series win.
Series scenarios:
· Windies win 2-0: Windies 76 points, Zimbabwe 0 points
· Windies win 1-0: Windies 75 points, Zimbabwe 2 points
· Series drawn: Windies 72 points, Zimbabwe 9 points
· Zimbabwe win 1-0: Windies 69 points, Zimbabwe 17 points
· Zimbabwe win 2-0: Windies 67 points, Zimbabwe 21 points
As for the ICC Test Player Rankings, there will be a lot of interest regarding the return to international cricket by Zimbabwe players Brendan Taylor and Kyle Jarvis.
Taylor, a 31-year-old former Zimbabwe captain who had announced his retirement during the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 in favour of playing County cricket in England, held a career-high 16th position among batsmen in October 2014. He was ranked 26th when he played his last Test against Bangladesh in Chittagong the following month. Pace bowler Jarvis held a career-high 40th rank and last played a Test in 2013 before turning his attention to County cricket.
The highest ranked batsman for the home side is Craig Ervine, who has scored two centuries in his last four Tests for a career-best 43rd rank. Sikandar Raza too is at a career-best 50th place while their highest-ranked bowler is captain Graeme Cremer (57th position), who has taken 16 wickets in his last two Tests.
For the Windies, opener Kraigg Brathwaite is the leading batsman in 18thposition while Shai Hope has risen to 30th place from 102nd, scoring 356 runs in the last two Tests of the series in England, which included a century in each innings at Headingley.
Pace bowlers Shannon Gabriel (21st) and Kemar Roach (26th) are their leading bowlers while leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo is ranked 28th.
Zimbabwe v West Indies Test series itinerary:
21-25 October: 1st Test, Bulawayo
29 October – 2 November, 2nd Test, Bulawayo
ICC Test Team Rankings (as on 19 October 2017, before the two-Test series between Zimbabwe and the Windies)
Rank Team Points
1 India 125
2 South Africa 111
3 England 105
4 New Zealand 97
5 Australia 97
6 Sri Lanka 94
7 Pakistan 88
8 West Indies 75
9 Bangladesh 72
10 Zimbabwe 00
(Developed by David Kendix)
ICC Test Player Rankings (as on 19 October, before the two-Test series between Zimbabwe and the Windies):
Batsmen (top 10)
Rank Player Team Pts Avge Highest Rating
1 Steve Smith Aus 936 59.66 941 v Ind at Dharamsala 2017
2 Joe Root Eng 889 53.76 917 v Aus at Trent Bridge 2015
3 K. Williamson NZ 880 51.16 893 v Aus at Perth 2015
4 C. Pujara Ind 876 52.65 888 v SL at Colombo (SSC) 2017
5 David Warner Aus 807 47.94 880 v NZ at Perth 2015
6 Virat Kohli Ind 806 49.55 895 v Ban at Hyderabad 2017
7 Hashim Amla SA 795 49.87 907 v Pak at Abu Dhabi 2013
8 Lokesh Rahul Ind 761*! 46.27 761 v SL at Pallekele 2017
9 Ajinkya Rahane Ind 760 47.61 825 v NZ at Indore 2016
10 Azhar Ali Pak 755 46.62 787 v Aus at Melbourne 2016
Other selected rankings
Rank Player Team Pts Avge Highest Rating
18 K. Brathwaite Win 669 36.59 701 v Eng at Headingley 2017
31 Shai Hope Win 610*! 31.12 610 v Eng at Lord’s 2017
37 Darren Bravo Win 587 40.00 709 v Aus at Trinidad 2012
41 Roston Chase Win 553* 38.47 626 v Pak at Dominica 2017
43= Craig Ervine Zim 536*! 37.95 536 v SL at Colombo (RPS) 2017
50 Sikandar Raza Zim 497*! 39.42 497 v SL at Colombo (RPS) 2017
Bowlers (top 10)
Rank Player Team Pts Avge Highest Rating
1 J. Anderson Eng 896! 27.39 896 v Win at Lord’s 2017
2 R.Jadeja Ind 884 23.60 899 v Aus at Ranchi 2017
3 K. Rabada SA 876! 22.71 876 v Ban at Bloemfontein 2017
4 R. Ashwin Ind 852 25.26 904 v Eng at Mumbai 2016
5 R. Herath SL 833 27.82 867 v Zim at Harare 2016
6 J. Hazlewood Aus 794 25.75 863 v Ind at Bengaluru 2017
7 Nathan Lyon Aus 752! 31.83 752 v Ban at Chittagong 2017
8 Dale Steyn SA 748 22.30 909 v Win at Centurion 2014
9 Neil Wagner NZ 745 28.90 767 v SA at Dunedin 2017
10 Stuart Broad Eng 737 28.81 880 v SA at Johannesburg 2016
Other selected rankings
Rank Player Team Pts Avge Highest Rating
21 S. Gabriel Win 603* 33.97 636 v Eng at Headingley 2017
26 Kemar Roach Win 561 30.20 774 v SA at Centurion 2014
28 D. Bishoo Win 538*! 37.46 538 v Eng at Lord’s 2017
57 G. Cremer Zim 311*! 47.80 311 v SL at Colombo (RPS) 2017
All-rounders (top five)
Rank Player Team Pts Highest Rating
1 S. Al Hasan Ban 438 489 v Aus at Mirpur 2017
2 R. Jadeja Ind 430 438 v SL at Colombo (SSC) 2017
3 R. Ashwin Ind 422 493 v Eng at Mohali 2016
4 Ben Stokes Eng 396/*! 396 v Win at Lord’s 2017
5 Moeen Ali Eng 378 409 v SA at Old Trafford 2017
*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
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