After recording a home win over Pakistan, South Africa have moved to the top of the ICC's official Test Championship - despite losing 5-1 to the Aussies this time last year.
According to our system, this Australian side is one of the all-time greats. Only three countries have ever broken through our 80-point barrier - England (most recently in 1960), West Indies (most recently in 1994) and Australia. So we'll have to agree to differ on this one.
|
Rank
|
Country |
Rating
|
|
1 |
Australia |
80.73 |
|
2 |
South Africa |
72.26 |
|
3 |
New Zealand |
61.55 |
|
4 |
Sri Lanka |
61.12 |
|
5 |
India |
60.40 |
|
6 |
England |
60.27 |
|
7 |
Pakistan |
59.65 |
|
8 |
West Indies |
56.71 |
|
9 |
Zimbabwe |
46.11 |
|
10 |
Bangladesh |
41.19 |
7 November 2002
Since 1961, only Australia and West Indies have achieved ratings of over 80, and the contrasting fortunes of these historical greats were reinforced as the Aussies won all three Tests in Pakistan to move to 80.33, and the Windies lost 2-0 in India, to sink to their second lowest rating of all time - the lowest being 54.17 in 1973.
What chance England in Australia? No side has ever won a 5 match series away from home with such a ratings difference. Not much, then.
9 September 2002
England's four-match home draw with India has cost them 1.79 points and dropped them below Sri Lanka and Pakistan to fifth. Although England have now gone three series unbeaten, they lost points as they were expected to win this one.
India have picked up the same number of points, which has lifted them above New Zealand to sixth.
Sri Lanka beat Bangladesh 2-0 in a home series, the first match by an innings and 196 runs, the second by 288 runs, extending Bangladesh's 0% record in Test series to eight.
During those eight Test series, they have drawn just one Test match, against Zimbabwe in November 2001, but even that was not enough to save them from defeat in the series. Perhaps its harder in cricket than other sports to give most of the others a 100 year start.
6 July 2002
New Zealand have swapped places with West Indies in our world order following the Kiwis first ever series win in the Caribbean.
In their previous three visits, New Zealand drew once and lost twice, without winning a single Test match. This time one win was enough as they followed a win by 204 runs in Barbados with a draw in Grenada to wrap up the two-match series.
England's 10 wicket victory in the third and final test at Old Trafford gave them a 2-0 win over Sri Lanka, which has lifted them above their opponents to third place in our rankings.
New Zealand's two match tour of the West Indies begins on 21 June and ends on July 2. We would expect the Windies good home form to continue with a win, although the Kiwis have been tough to beat in recent times.
The West Indies won the decisive 5th Test against India at Sabina Park by 155 runs to win the series 2-1, and return to some respectability at 5th position in our world order.
In fairness it is the Windies away form that has let them down badly. At home, they have lost only one of their last nine series (against South Africa in April 2001), whereas they have won only one of their last 10 away series - that win coming in Zimbabwe in July last year.
It was the Test Cricket World Cup Final - or as near as you could get to it. The two best sides in the world went head to head over 6 Test Matches, three in Australia and three in South Africa. But it was no epic tussle, as the Aussies brushed aside the South Africans to win the first five Tests.
So how good is this Australian team? Frankly we've found their inconsistency puzzling on occasions. How the same side that dominated virtually every day of long series against England and South Africa could have lost in India and drawn a home series with New Zealand is beyond us.
But they are now, without the merest hint of doubt, the best in the world, and they are on the verge of becoming only the third side since 1970 to break through our 80-point barrier (following West Indies twice and Australia themselves in 1997) and they do look like a truly all-time great side when the mood takes them.