England have opportunity to close gap on Black Caps

Cricket365
May 23, 2018

England would be looking to close in on fourth-placed New Zealand in the ICC Test Team Rankings in an upcoming two-Test home series against Pakistan.

The tourists could overtake England if they pull off victories in both matches at Lord’s (24-28 May) and Headingley (1-5 June).

A 2-0 win for England will lift them to 101 points and within one point of New Zealand, with Pakistan losing six points with such a verdict and slipping to 81. A 1-0 series win will see England gain one point and reach 99 while Pakistan will be on 83 points, four points below their present tally of 87 points.

James Anderson has a chance to seize back the top position in the Test bowlers’ rankings

A drawn series will see England lose one point and Pakistan gain one point, while Pakistan will improve substantially if they win the series. A 1-0 series win will lift Pakistan by six points to 93 points and just one point below England while a 2-0 result will see them overtake England to reach 95 points

Series scenarios:

England win 2-0 – England 101 points, Pakistan 81
England win 1-0 – England 99, Pakistan 83
Drawn series – England 97, Pakistan 88
Pakistan win 1-0 – England 94, Pakistan 93
Pakistan win 2-0 – Pakistan 95, England 93

Joe Root is currently No.3 in the Test batsmen’s rankings

In the ICC Test Player Rankings, England captain Joe Root is the leading batsman from either side at third position and would be looking to inch back towards the 900-point mark, which he had held on to until September last year, and close the gap of 45 points with India captain Virat Kohli (912).

Wicketkeeper-batsman Jonny Bairstow (13^th), experienced opener Alastair Cook (16^th) and all-rounder Ben Stokes (25^th) are their other leading batsmen.

The seaming home conditions will also give fast bowler James Anderson a chance to seize back the top position as only six points separate him from South Africa’s Kagiso Rabada, while 12^th-ranked Stuart Broad would be looking to move into the top 10.

Pakistan could overtake England in the team rankings if they pull off victories in both matches at Lord’s and Headingley

Pakistan opener Azhar Ali (12^th) dropped two places after the recent one-off Test against Ireland and this series provides him the opportunity to regain a place in the top 10 while Asad Shafiq (32^nd) would be similarly looking to move up after dropping seven places following the Dublin Test.

Pace bowlers Mohammad Assad (29^th) and Mohammad Amir (37^th) would be relishing the prospect of playing in English conditions after tuning up well for the series including a good account in the Dublin Test.

Series schedule:

24-28 May – 1^st Test, Lord’s, London

1-5 June – 2^nd Test, Headingley, Leeds

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

ICC Test Team Rankings (as of 22 May, before the England-Pakistan Test series)

Rank	Team	Points
1	India	125
2	South Africa	112
3	Australia	106
4	New Zealand	102
5	England	98
6	Sri Lanka	94
7	Pakistan	87
8	Bangladesh	75
9	Windies	67
10	Zimbabwe	2

Also played: Ireland – 1 match, 0 points
Yet to play their first Test: Afghanistan.

(Developed by David Kendix)

ICC Test Player Rankings (as of 22 May, before the England-Pakistan series):

Batsmen (top 10)

Rank	Player	Team	Pts	Avge	Highest Rating
1	Steve Smith	Aus	929	61.37	947 v SA at Durban 2018
2	Virat Kohli	Ind	912!	53.4	912 v SA at Johannesburg 2018
3	Joe Root	Eng	867	52.63	917 v Aus at Trent Bridge 2015
4	Kane Williamson	NZ	847	50.35	893 v Aus at Perth 2015
5	David Warner	Aus	820	48.2	880 v NZ at Perth 2015
6	AB de Villiers	SA	813	50.66	935 v Aus at Port Elizabeth 2014
7	C. Pujara	Ind	810	50.51	888 v SL at Nagpur 2017
8	Dean Elgar	SA	784!	42.58	784 v Aus at Johannesburg 2018
9	Aiden Markram	SA	759*!	55.55	759 v Aus at Johannesburg 2018
10	Hashim Amla	SA	726	48.03	907 v Pak at Abu Dhabi 2013

Other selected rankings

Rank	Player	Team	Pts	Avge	Highest Rating
12	Azhar Ali	Pak	718	45.84	787 v Aus at Melbourne 2016
13	Jonny Bairstow	Eng	702	39.2	772 v SA at Old Trafford 2017
16	Alastair Cook	Eng	679	45.73	874 v Ind at Kolkata 2012
25=	Ben Stokes	Eng	617	35.16	664 v Win at Lord’s 2017
32	Asad Shafiq	Pak	604	39.53	758 v Eng at Lord’s 2016
37	Sarfraz Ahmed	Pak	584	39.22	715 v SL at Galle 2015
45	Moeen Ali	Eng	547	32.4	655 v SA at Old Trafford 2017
81	Faheem Ashraf	Pak	392*!	83	392 v Ire at Malahide 2018

Bowlers (top 10)

Rank	Player	Team	Pts	Avge	Highest rating
1	Kagiso Rabada	SA	897	21.59	902 v Aus at Port Elizabeth 2018
2	James Anderson	Eng	891	27.36	896 v Win at Lord’s 2017
3	Vernon Philander	SA	845	21.46	912 v Ind at Johannesburg 2013
4	Ravindra Jadeja	Ind	844	23.73	899 v Aus at Ranchi 2017
5	R. Ashwin	Ind	803	25.56	904 v Eng at Mumbai 2016
6=	Morne Morkel	SA	800!	27.66	800 v Aus at Johannesburg 2018
	Pat Cummins	Aus	800*!	23.81	800 v SA at Johannesburg 2018
8	Trent Boult	NZ	795	27.84	825 v Eng at Lord’s 2015
9	Rangana Herath	SL	777	28.18	867 v Zim at Harare 2016
10	Neil Wagner	NZ	765	28.26	785 v Win at Wellington 2017

Other selected rankings

Rank	Player	Team	Pts	Avge	Highest Rating
12	Stuart Broad	Eng	732	29.04	880 v SA at Johannesburg 2016
29	M. Abbas	Pak	539*!	18.78	539 v Ire at Malahide 2018
30	Ben Stokes	Eng	533*	34.13	596 v Win at Lord’s 2017
33	Moeen Ali	Eng	502	40.68	633 v Win at Edgbaston 2017
34	Chris Woakes	Eng	489*	35.53	609 v Pak at The Oval 2016
37	M. Amir	Pak	453*	31.95	658 v Eng at Lord’s 2010

All-rounders (top five)

Rank	Player	Team	Pts	Highest rating
1	S. Al Hasan	Ban	421	489 v Aus at Mirpur 2017
2	R. Jadeja	Ind	391	438 v SL at Colombo (SSC) 2017
3	V. Philander	SA	372	376 v Aus at Cape Town 2014
4	R. Ashwin	Ind	368	493 v Eng at Mohali 2016
5	Ben Stokes	Eng	329/*	396 v Win at Lord’s 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