One-Day Internationals have today been given a ranking structure by the International Cricket Council along similar lines to Test cricket.

Not surprisingly, Australia sits in No 1 position, giving it the double as the best all-round team in world cricket.

The full list of rankings among the 11 nations is: Australia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, India, England, West Indies, New Zealand, Zimbabwe, Kenya and Bangladesh.

International Cricket Counci (ICC) chief executive Malcolm Speed today said a ranking system was long overdue for ODIs.

The system has been designed to do away with the dead rubbers that occurred when sides could not be beaten in a series.

"Now, the result of every one of the 120 or so matches that will be played between the 11 ODI countries over the next 12 months will count towards a country's rating. This will add a new dimension to the playing side of the game and contribute towards greater spectator interest," he said.

In order to make the rankings, all matches played between the participating countries since August 1, 2000 have been taken into account.

And the rankings will be the basis of future placements in tournaments.

Every match counts towards the rankings and all matches, whether in a World Cup or a dead series, will be treated with equal importance.

The formula devised takes into account: results from all ODI matches played over the previous two to three years; strength of opposition, with greater reward for beating higher-ranked opponents; greater importance is placed on more recent results, with older matches dropped every 12 months; all matches have equal status, with no account taken of venue or margin of victory.

In developing system, the ICC has consulted closely with international scorer and cricket statistician David Kendix.

The country with the highest rating is officially regarded as the best ODI team in world cricket, and will hold a specially commissioned ICC ODI Trophy, while it tops the table.

The ICC ODI rankings table will be updated and published on the ICC web site (www.icc.cricket.org) after each ODI match between the 11 major nations. Series previews and details of major movements on the rankings table will be circulated on a regular basis by ICC media release.

A feature of the web site interaction is a 'Predictor' that allows users to select future results and what effect they will have on the table.

A rating is worked out by dividing the points scored by the matches played, with the answer given to the nearest whole number. It can be compared with a batting average, but with points instead of total runs scored and matches instead of number of times dismissed.

After every ODI, the two teams each receive a certain number of points, based on a mathematical formula. Each team's new points total is then divided by its new matches total to give their updated rating.

Matches abandoned with no result are always ignored. Also, only ODIs between full members are rated, so the Netherlands' two matches in the recent ICC Champions Trophy were not included, nor will 2003 World Cup matches involving the Netherlands, Canada or Namibia.

© CricInfo