ICC comes up with new points plan for Test rankings, India not number 1 if points are applied now

The International Cricket Council (ICC) had come up with a new points plan for the Test rankings. The new policy will govern the points plan for the Test Championship which will come into effect from the summer of 2019. In a very interesting change, the positions of the teams will keep changing after every match played. Under the present setup, the rankings are changed only after the series comes to an end.

Now, the new rules are set to see the teams getting their points after every game. Certainly, with time, the pros and cons of the new system will come to the fore. For now, the move sounds like an interesting one. Among the other notable changes is the rewards system for overseas wins.

Surprising, the victories on the overseas tours will not get any extra point to the visiting side. Also, as per the reports in Times Now, “if the match ends up as a draw, either teams will be handed reduced points thereby increasing the incentive for teams facing defeat on the final day.” The ICC committee that came up with the discussions recently met in Mumbai under the chairmanship of former Indian cricketer Anil Kumble.

“Based on the principle of simplicity and every match needing to count, the Committee recommended that points should only be awarded for each match and not a series win,” the ICC announced after the meeting.

“As part of this, it was proposed that there was a draw-win ratio of 0.33:1, so a draw gives each team a third of the available points. It was also agreed to propose a reserve day for the ICC World Test Championship final to enable any time lost through bad weather to be made up,” the ICC announced further.

Explanation of the points system

The points allocation can be illustrated as follows. If the total points on offer for a five-match series in 100, then each match will have 20 points on offer. If it is a two-match series, each match will have 50 points. If a match ends in a draw in a 5-match series, the teams will get 6.67 points each. At the same time, if the teams draw a match in 2-match series, they will get 16.67 points each.

This, in essence, shows that a if a team wins and a draws a match in 2-match series, they will have 66.67 points. This will be more than a team that wins two matches and draws three matches in a five-match series, as they will only have 60 points to their name despite winning the series 2-0.

Who takes the number one slot?

If the point system is applied in all the matches played last two years, then team South Africa should be the current number one side and not team India. Here is how the rankings would look like if the new system is used now:

1) South Africa – 555.5
2) India – 497.2
3) New Zealand – 405.6
4) Sri Lanka – 338.9
5) Australia – 328.3
6) England – 271.7
7) Pakistan – 183.3
8) Bangladesh – 166.7
9) West Indies – 113.3

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