Australia replace India to claim the top spot in ICC Test Rankings

Australia overtook India to attain the No.1 position in the ICC Test Rankings after convincingly beating hosts New Zealand by 7 wickets to lift the Trans-Tasman trophy. With victory in Christchurch, Australia jumped to 112 rating points, sneaking past India, who have 110 points, on the top of Test rankings for the first time since July 2014. South Africa (109), Pakistan (106) and England (102) make for the top five.

The 2015/16 cricket calendar shows Australia has been consistent with their performances. They have had an amazing summer with six wins and two draws in eight Tests. This accounts to three series victories. They were already 1-0 up in the series after winning the first Tests at Wellington. After this 2-0 series sweep, Australia blanked The Black Caps successfully for the second time after they had previously beaten them 2-0 in the three-match home series. They also thumped West Indies by a margin of 2-0 to continue their winning run in the Test format.

They made a good comeback after losing the Ashes last year. Smith so far in his captaincy career has led Australia to nine Test wins from his first 11 matches in charge, a feat only equaled by Ricky Ponting and Lindsay Hassett. Australia will now claim the US$1 million prize for the number one side in the Test championship at the end of the cricket year.

Moving ahead into this year, the Aussies will four crucial Test series. They will travel to Sri Lanka to play 3 Tests, and then host South Africa and Pakistan for 3-Test series’. Lastly, they will tour India next year to play 4-Test series which Steve Waugh describes as the ‘Final frontier.’

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