International Cricket Council






ICC Home




Home
News
Photos
Test Cricket
One-Day Cricket
ICC Cricket World Cup
ICC Events
LG ICC Rankings
About ICC
Rules and Regulations
Umpires and Referees
Global Development
Women's Cricket
Media Centre
Commercial Partners
ICC Cricket World
Recruitment
Search the ICC website










Visit ICC members and regions











Drawn Aus v NZ Series Sets Up Championship Showdown with South Africa
ICC Media Release - 4 December 2001

Outright leadership of the ICC Test Championship will be at stake in the forthcoming Test series between Australia and South Africa.

Australia's drawn series with New Zealand, confirmed by today's compelling conclusion in Perth, strips the champion team of a point. This reduces its series points average from an unassailable 1.62 to 1.54, fractionally ahead of South Africa's 1.50.

This means Australia has to win the three match series starting in Adelaide on Friday 14th December, to maintain its table-topping position. Any other result would see Shaun Pollock's team claim top spot for the first time since the Championship was officially launched in May this year.

Australia won both corresponding home and away series with South Africa four years ago, which is why anything less than a repeat of those performances will see it lose the official position as the best Test side in world cricket.

A drawn series would take South Africa to the top of the table with a 1.56 series points average over Australia's 1.46.

A win for Pollock's team would open up a significant gap of 1.62 against Australia's 1.38 points.

ICC Test Championship Table, 4th December 2001


Team	      Played   Won     Lost   Drawn   Points   Average
Australia       13      9        2      2       20       1.54
South Africa    16     11        3      2       24       1.50
England         14      7        5      2       16       1.14
Sri Lanka       14      7        5      2       16       1.14
New Zealand     15      6        6      3       15       1.00
West Indies     14      6        7      1       13       0.93
Pakistan        15      3        7      5       11       0.73
India           13      3        7      3        9       0.69
Zimbabwe        15      2       11      2        6       0.40
Bangladesh       1      0        1      0        0        -

Sri Lanka and New Zealand Moving Up

Elsewhere in a busy schedule of Test cricket Sri Lanka's historic 3 -0 win against the West Indies has moved it up to share equal third place with England on the Test Championship table. The result is the first time in its Test history that Sri Lanka has achieved a series clean sweep.

New Zealand is another team moving up the ladder after holding Australia to a 0 -0 drawn series. This result now replaces the 2 -0 win for Steve Waugh's team in the last encounter in 1997/98, adding a point to the Kiwis' total. It now has 15 points from 15 series and an average of 1.00, moving it ahead of the West Indies, who drop from fifth to sixth place.

Media contact:

Mark Harrison
ICC Communications Manager
Tel: + 44 (0) 207 266 7913/1818
Mobile: +44 (0)787 944 1891
Email: mark.harrison@icc-cricket.com

© ICC


Teams Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, West Indies, Zimbabwe.
Tours India in South Africa New Zealand in Australia West Indies in Sri Lanka South Africa in Australia England in India




Current Cricket


India v Pakistan





Australia v Sri Lanka





South Africa v New Zealand





Click here for live updates




Twenty20

UNAIDS

UNICEF

LG ICC Player Rankings

LG ICC Test Championship Table


1
Australia 126





2
South Africa 121





3
India 118





4
Sri Lanka 109





5
England 103





6
Pakistan 100





7
West Indies 81





8
New Zealand 81





9
Bangladesh 0






Complete Rankings »




LG ICC ODI Championship Table


1
Australia 128





2
South Africa 122





3
India 119





4
Pakistan 113





5
New Zealand 113





6
England 108





7
Sri Lanka 105





8
West Indies 91





9
Bangladesh 46





10
Ireland 19





11
Zimbabwe 17





12
Kenya 11






Complete Rankings »







print this page














International Cricket Council

Contact ICC | Jobs @ ICC

© 2007 ICC Development (International) Ltd.