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Lahore: The two-Test series between Sri Lanka and Pakistan gets underway in Galle on 6 August, with the host aiming to improve its ranking in the Reliance ICC Test Team Rankings Table, and Pakistan looking to retain its third position.
Pakistan is currently ranked third with 103 ratings points, while Sri Lanka is eight ratings points behind in sixth position, with 95 ratings points.
While the final rankings of each team are heavily dependent on the ongoing five-Test series between England and India, both will be aiming for a series win to avoid downwards movement.
The five-Test series between England and India will end a day after the series between Sri Lanka and Pakistan finishes. The series between England and India is currently locked in a 1-1 deadlock at the end of the first three Tests.
Meanwhile, Pakistan must win the series to maintain its hold on third position and thereby close the gap with South Africa and Australia in first and second place, respectively, while Sri Lanka could drop a place to seventh in such a scenario.
On the other hand, if Sri Lanka were to win the series 1-0, it could move up one place to fifth, while a 2-0 win will hand Angelo Mathews’ side a rise of two places to fourth. A series loss by any margin will mean that Pakistan would drop to sixth.
A 1-1 series deadlock will see both sides maintaining their pre-series rankings.
Meanwhile, with an eye on the other ongoing series, South Africa will be aiming to keep its number-one position when it faces off against Zimbabwe in a one-off Test in Harare from 9 August.
South Africa, currently ranked first in the Reliance ICC Test Team Rankings Table after reclaiming the top spot following a 1-0 series victory against Sri Lanka, must win the Test to stay on top of the tree. A draw or loss will see Hashim Amla’s team drop below Australia into second position.
Zimbabwe’s ranking of ninth will not change regardless of the outcome of the Test, but should the side defeat South Africa, it will gain 10 ratings points and close the gap with eighth-ranked West Indies.
Sri Lanka and Pakistan will start their two-match Test series with as many as three of the top 10 batsmen in the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Test Batsmen likely to be seen in action.
Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara, who was adjudged the ICC Cricketer of the Year and Test Cricketer of the Year in 2012 at the LG ICC Awards in Colombo, will lead the charge, alongside skipper Angelo Mathews (sixth) and his Pakistan counter-part Misbah-ul-Haq (seventh) during the two-Test series.
Amongst the other stars in the top 20, Pakistan’s Younus Khan (11th) and Sri Lanka’s Mahela Jayawardena (14th) are also expected to play.
Among the bowlers inside the top 20 of the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Test Bowlers likely to be seen in action are Saeed Ajmal (fifth), Rangana Herath (eighth), Abdur Rehman (14th) and Junaid Khan (17th).
For South Africa and Zimbabwe, South Africa’s AB de Villiers (first) and Hashim Amla (third) are the top-ranked batsmen expected to be seen in action, while Faf du Plessis (18th) is the other South Africa batsman inside the top 20. For Zimbabwe, captain Brendan Taylor (29th) is the highest ranked batsman.
South Africa’s Dale Steyn will start the one-off Test as the number-one ranked bowler, leading team mates Vernon Philander (fourth) and Morne Morkel (16th) as the players in the top 20 who are likely to be seen.
Forthcoming Test Fixtures:
England v India
7-11 August: Fourth Test, Old Trafford, Manchester
15-19 August: Fifth Test, The Oval, London
Sri Lanka v Pakistan
6-10 August: First Test, Galle
14-18 August: Second Test, Colombo
South Africa v Zimbabwe
9-13 August: One-off Test, Harare
Reliance ICC Test Team Rankings table (as on 28 July, after the conclusion of Sri Lanka-South Africa series)
Rank Team Rating
1 South Africa 124
2 Australia 123
3 Pakistan 103
4 India 102
5 England 100
6 Sri Lanka 95
7 New Zealand 93
8 West Indies 74
9 Zimbabwe 40
10 Bangladesh 21
(Developed by David Kendix)
Reliance ICC Test Player Rankings
Batsmen
Rank Player Team Pts Ave HS Rating
1 AB de Villiers SA 899 51.33 935 v Aus at Port Elizabeth 2014
2 Kumar Sangakkara SL 889 58.32 938 v Eng at Kandy 2007
3 Hashim Amla SA 878 51.70 907 v Pak at Abu Dhabi 2013
4 David Warner Aus 871 ! 46.54 871 v SA at Cape Town 2014
5 S.Chanderpaul WI 854 51.88 901 v NZ at Napier 2008
6 Angelo Mathews SL 827 ! 51.00 827 v SA at Colombo (SSC) 2014
7 Misbah-ul-Haq Pak 824 ! 48.75 824 v SL at Sharjah 2014
8 Michael Clarke Aus 818 51.50 900 v SL at Melbourne 2012
9 Ross Taylor NZ 795 46.43 871 v WI at Hamilton 2013
10 Cheteshwar Pujara Ind 771* 54.11 851 v SA at Durban 2013
11 Younus Khan Pak 759 51.38 880 v SL at Lahore 2009
12 Steven Smith Aus 737*! 40.02 737 v SA at Cape Town 2014
13 Kane Williamson NZ 728 ! 40.28 728 v WI at Bridgetown 2014
14 Mahela Jayawardene SL 704 50.09 883 v Ind at Ahmedabad 2009
15 Virat Kohli Ind 684 42.37 784 v NZ at Wellington 2014
16= Chris Rogers Aus 675* 38.14 694 v Eng at Sydney 2014
Joe Root Eng 675* 45.63 688 v Ind at Lord’s 2014
18 Faf du Plessis SA 657* 50.39 674 v SL at Galle 2014
19 Ian Bell Eng 655 45.16 822 v Ind at The Oval 2011
20 Brendon McCullum NZ 651 37.10 724 v Ind at Wellington 2014
Bowlers
Rank Player Team Pts Ave HS Rating
1 Dale Steyn SA 903 22.82 908 v Pak at Johannesburg 2013
2 Ryan Harris Aus 870 ! 22.56 870 v SA at Cape Town 2014
3 Mitchell Johnson Aus 844 ! 27.42 844 v SA at Cape Town 2014
4 Vernon Philander SA 813 21.09 912 v Ind at Johannesburg 2013
5 Saeed Ajmal Pak 787 27.46 855 v Zim at Harare 2013
6 Tim Southee NZ 783 29.83 799 v WI at Kingston 2014
7 James Anderson Eng 781 30.09 813 v Ind at Edgbaston 2011
8 Rangana Herath SL 755 30.41 838 v NZ at Colombo (PSS) 2012
9 Trent Boult NZ 737* 27.45 767 v Ind at Wellington 2014
10= Kemar Roach WI 733 ! 27.04 733 v NZ at Bridgetown 2014
Peter Siddle Aus 733 29.37 816 v Eng at Old Trafford 2013
12 R. Ashwin Ind 722 28.50 808 v WI at Mumbai 2013
13 Stuart Broad Eng 715 30.66 783 v WI at Lord’s 2012
14= Abdur Rehman Pak 705* 27.75 739 v Eng at Dubai 2012
Pragyan Ojha Ind 705 30.26 773 v Eng at Kolkata 2012
16 Morne Morkel SA 700 30.08 776 v Aus at Cape Town 2011
17 Junaid Khan Pak 623*! 29.07 623 v SL at Sharjah 2014
18 Shakib Al Hasan Ban 613 33.36 680 v WI at Mirpur 2011
19 Nathan Lyon Aus 607 32.99 648 v Eng at Melbourne 2013
20 Ishant Sharma Ind 584 37.04 671 v WI at Dominica 2011
All-rounders
Rank Player Team Pts HS Rating
1 Vernon Philander SA 365*/ 376 v Aus at Cape Town 2014
2 Shakib Al Hasan Ban 364 404 v Pak at Mirpur 2011
3 R.Ashwin Ind 351*/ 419 v WI at Mumbai 2013
4 Mitchell Johnson Aus 280 384 v Eng at Cardiff 2009
5 Stuart Broad Eng 265 382 v Pak at Abu Dhabi 2012
