World number one spot up for grabs
Posted Thursday, February 04, 2010 at 14:38 © Sapa
When South Africa and India take the field in Nagpur on Saturday
at the start of a two-test series, there is more than just the
series at stake -- the two teams will be battling for top spot on
the ICC Test Championship table.
India currently head the log, with South Africa four ratings point behind, in second place. The team that occupies top spot on April 1 will be declared world champions and will receive a cheque for US$175 000.
India will drop to second spot if the Proteas win the series by 1-0 or better. But India just need to draw the series to retain the number-one position and the mace which they snatched from South Africa on December 6 after defeating Sri Lanka 2-0.
Although Bangladesh will host England and Australia will travel to New Zealand for two tests series before the April 1 cut-off date, the result of those two series will have no impact on the number-one position.
If South Africa beat India by 1-0, they will go to 123 ratings points and India will drop to 122 ratings points while in case of a 2-0 win, the Proteas will rise to 125 ratings points and India will drop to 120 ratings points.
On the other side of the coin, if India win the series 1-0 or better, they will not only finish on top of the table but will also bring Australia in contention for a cash award of US$75 000 which will be presented to side that finishes second on the table also at the cut-off date.
While a 1-0 win will lift India to 127 ratings points and push South Africa to 118 ratings points, the Proteas will drop to 116 ratings points if they lose both tests. A series loss for South Africa by whatever margin will give Australia a sniff of the number-two position. Ricky Ponting's side currently sits on 116 ratings points and will rise to 117 ratings points if they beat New Zealand 1-0 but will jump to 119 ratings points if they win both matches of that series.
Last year, the race for the Test Championship mace also went down to the wire with both Australia and South Africa entering into the final series before the cut-off date with just five ratings points separating them. On that occasion Ponting and his men prevailed, winning the series 2-1 and retaining possession of the coveted mace.
While India and South Africa will be fighting hard for top spot, there are a few very interesting individual battles on the cards as well.
In the Player Rankings for test batsman, India opener Gautam Gambhir is in number-one position while Graeme Smith is second, 39 points behind. If Gambhir struggles for runs and Smith manages to shine with the bat, there is a strong possibility that there'll be a change at the top.
However, if Gambhir succeeds in showing glimpses of his 2009 form which won him the ICC Test Player of the Year award in Johannesburg last year, he could well become the 25th batsman overall to reach the 900-point mark which, in ranking terms, is the benchmark for top batsmen.
Sachin Tendulkar is the other batsmen who will be keeping an eye on a place in the top five. Tendulkar currently occupies ninth position but there are just 33 points separating him from fifth-placed Michael Clarke of Australia.
It has been almost five years since test cricket's most successful batsman was inside the top five.
The other batsmen eyeing upward movement are Virender Sehwag (sixth), Jacques Kallis (eighth), AB de Villiers (14th), VVS Laxman (19th), Hashim Alma (23rd), Ashwell Prince (29th) and Dhoni (30th).
In the Player Rankings for test bowlers, there are six bowlers inside the top 20 from either side with fast bowler Dale Steyn leading the way by a distance. Others are Zaheer Khan (sixth), Morne Morkel (seventh), Harbhajan Singh (eighth), Paul Harris (12th) and Ishant Sharma (15th).
Kallis leads the Player Rankings for test all-rounders with Sehwag being the highest-ranked Indian in 10th spot.
