Brendon McCullum back in top 10 of ODI batters, Steven Finn now No. 3 ODI bowler. 100 days to go to the start of ICC Champions Trophy 2013
England’s 2-1 win in the three-match series against New Zealand has not only given it a perfect build-up to the ICC Champions Trophy 2013, which is just 100 days away, but has also kept it on course for finishing second in the Reliance ICC ODI Championship Table at the 1 April cut-off date.
England’s come-from-behind series win means it has retained second place but has dropped two ratings points to now lead third-ranked Australia by just one ratings point and fourth-ranked South Africa by five ratings points. India has taken an outright lead on top of the table with 119 ratings points.
With India and Australia not scheduled to play any ODIs before the cut-off date, South Africa is the only side that can push India and England down the order when it takes on Pakistan in a five-ODI series from 10 March.
The only way South Africa can leapfrog England and add another US$75,000 to its account is by beating Pakistan 4-1 or better. If South Africa wins 4-1, then the Proteas will join England on 117 ratings points but will be ranked above Alastair Cook’s side when the ratings are calculated beyond the decimal point.
If South Africa makes a clean sweep of the ODI series, then it will jump three places to claim top spot, which, in turn will mean it will win US$175,000 as well as the ODI shield. These two are presented to the side that tops the ODI table at the 1 April cut-off date.
To find out exactly how the forthcoming series will affect the Championship Table, please click here. The ODI and T20I Championship tables, unlike the Test Championship Table, are updated after every match.
Build-up to the ICC Champions Trophy
Reverting to the New Zealand-England ODI series, this was the penultimate series for both sides before they meet again in England in May as a precursor to the ICC Champions Trophy 2013, which will be staged from 6 to 23 June in England and Wales.
The two sides will then meet again during the group stage of the ICC Champions Trophy 2013. Group A of the ICC Champions Trophy 2013 includes defending champion Australia, 2000 winner New Zealand and 2002 champion Sri Lanka, along with host England, which reached the final when it last staged the event in 2004.
Sides in Group B are 1998 winner South Africa, 2004 champion West Indies, 2002 winner India, and Pakistan.
The tournament opener at the ICC Champions Trophy will feature two former winners, when South Africa takes on India in Cardiff on 6 June. The following day, West Indies will face Pakistan at The Oval.
The semi-finals of the ICC Champions Trophy 2013 will be staged at The Oval (19 June) and in Cardiff (20 June), while Edgbaston will be the venue of the final, to be played on 23 June.
Brendon McCullum back among top 10 ODI batsmen
Meanwhile, New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum has returned to the top 10 of the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for ODI batsmen after scoring 222 runs in the three-match series against England. McCullum has moved up 16 places to ninth, thereby also achieving a career-best 685 ratings points.
Also breaking into the top 20 is former New Zealand captain Ross Taylor. The right-handed batsman has jumped four places to 13th in the latest rankings, which were released on Monday after the ODI series between England and New Zealand and the first two ODIs between West Indies and Zimbabwe.
The most impressive gain in the batting table is England’s Joe Root, who has jumped 61 places to 55th.
The batting table is still headed by South Africa’s Hashim Amla, followed by his captain AB de Villiers in second place and India’s Virat Kohli in third place.
In the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for ODI bowlers, England fast bowler Steven Finn has jumped two places to third with a best-ever 755 ratings points.
The only other England bowler to move upwards in the top 20 is England’s James Anderson. Anderson was the highest wicket-taker in the three-match series against New Zealand with seven scalps, and he moved up nine places to 11th.
The bowlers’ table is still headed by Pakistan’s Saeed Ajmal. West Indies’ Sunil Narine has moved up a place to second with a career-best 766 ratings points.
The Reliance ICC Player Rankings for ODI all-rounders is still headed by Pakistan’s Mohammad Hafeez, with Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan in second place and Shane Watson of Australia in third.
Reliance ICC ODI Championship (as on 25 February) (after New Zealand-England ODI series and second ODI between West Indies-Zimbabwe)
Rank Team Rating
1 India 119
2 England 117
3 Australia 116
4 South Africa 112
5 Sri Lanka 110
6 Pakistan 107
7 West Indies 85
8 New Zealand 82
9 Bangladesh 78
10 Zimbabwe 48
11 Ireland 35
12 Netherlands 16
13 Kenya 11
Reliance ICC ODI Player Rankings (as on 25 February after New Zealand-England ODI series and second ODI between West Indies-Zimbabwe)
Batsmen
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Ave HS Ranking
1 ( – ) Hashim Amla SA 886 58.70 901 v Eng at Trent Bridge 2012
2 ( – ) AB de Villiers SA 834 48.82 852 v Eng at Trent Bridge 2012
3 ( – ) Virat Kohli Ind 812 49.43 866 v SL at Colombo (RPS) 2012
4 ( – ) MS Dhoni Ind 784 51.85 836 v Aus at Delhi 2009
5 ( – ) Jonathan Trott Eng 753 50.61 781 v Ind at Mumbai 2011
6 ( – ) K Sangakkara SL 728 38.56 781 v Ind at Colombo (RPS) 2012
7 ( – ) Alastair Cook Eng 710 40.26 752 v Aus at Lord’s 2012
8 ( – ) Shane Watson Aus 691 42.13 773 v SL at Hambantota 2011
9 (+16) B McCullum NZ 685! 31.05 685 v Eng at Auckland 2013
10 (-1) T Dilshan SL 683 35.74 765 v NZ at Colombo (RPS) 2011
11 (-1) Michael Clarke Aus 676 44.69 750 v SL at Melbourne 2008
12 (-1) Suresh Raina Ind 669! 36.98 669 v Eng at Dharamsala 2013
13 (+4) Ross Taylor NZ 667 38.25 693 v Aus at Adelaide 2009
14 (-1) Shakib Al Hasan Ban 666 35.63 683 v Pak at Mirpur 2012
15 (-1) Umar Akmal Pak 665 37.75 702 v Afg at Sharjah 2012
16 (-1) Graeme Smith SA 657 39.13 784 v Ind at Kolkata 2005
17 (-1) Jacques Kallis SA 654 45.26 817 v WI at Johannesburg 2004
18 ( – ) Gautam Gambhir Ind 649 39.68 722 v NZ at Vadodara 2010
19 ( – ) Eoin Morgan Ire/Eng 645 39.12 690 v Aus at The Oval 2010
20 (-8) Brendan Taylor Zim 642 34.62 667 v NZ at Napier 2012
Selected Rankings
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Ave HS Ranking
23 (+1) Ian Bell Eng 627 37.04 702 v Ind at Edgbaston 2007
29 (+6) Kane Williamson NZ 602* 36.40 610 v Eng at Napier 2013
30 (-1) Kieron Pollard WI 595 26.73 598 v Aus at Melbourne 2013
31 (-2) Kevin Pietersen Eng 589 41.60 833 v Aus at Antigua 2007
33 (-2) Martin Guptill NZ 587 36.38 684 v Zim at Napier 2012
41 (+9) Darren Bravo WI 556! 32.21 556 v Zim at Grenada 2013
55 (+61) Joe Root Eng 504*! 81.50 504 v NZ at Auckland 2013
58 (+2) R Sarwan WI 500 42.57 780 v Ind at St Kitts 2006
63 (+30) Johnson Charles WI 493*! 34.72 493 v Zim at Grenada 2013
70 (-5) E Chigumbura Zim 474 23.84 554 v SA at Bulawayo 2007
74 (-10) H Masakadza Zim 461 26.87 566 v Ban at Mirpur 2009
77 (-4) Dwayne Bravo WI 455 23.81 493 v Eng at Ahmedabad 2006
85 (RE) Vusi Sibanda Zim 429 23.81 512 v Pak at Karachi 2008
86 (-12) BJ Watling NZ 426* 29.33 475 v SA at Paarl 2013
87 (-7) Rob Nicol NZ 425* 34.35 483 v WI at St Kitts 2012
88 (RE) Craig Ervine Zim 424* 32.73 443 v Ken at Kolkata 2011
93 (-5) N McCullum NZ 406 19.33 420 v SA at Kimberley 2013
96 (+11) Malcolm Waller Zim 394*! 23.59 394 v WI at Grenada 2013
98 (-8) Samit Patel Eng 391* 32.13 407 v Ind at Kochi 2013
Bowlers
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Ave Econ HS Ranking
1 ( – ) Saeed Ajmal Pak 801! 22.41 4.09 801 v Ind at Delhi 2013
2 (+1) Sunil Narine WI 766*! 20.51 3.80 766 v Zim at Grenada 2013
3 (+2) Steven Finn Eng 755*! 26.53 4.60 755 v NZ at Auckland 2013
4 (-2) M Hafeez Pak 753 32.86 4.01 769 v Ind at Kolkata 2013
5 (-1) L Tsotsobe SA 736* 21.29 4.66 743 v NZ at Auckland 2012
6 ( – ) N Kulasekara SL 667 32.32 4.61 727 v NZ at Colombo (RPS) 2009
7 ( – ) Clint McKay Aus 665 22.22 4.66 680 v WI at Perth 2013
8 ( – ) Morne Morkel SA 664 23.33 4.91 717 v SL at East London 2012
9 ( – ) Ravindra Jadeja Ind 663! 34.17 4.78 663 v Eng at Dharamsala 2013
10 ( – ) Abdur Razzak Ban 657 27.60 4.46 675 v Zim at Chittagong 2010
11= (+9) James Anderson Eng 647 30.06 4.99 687 v Ban at Dhaka 2003
( – ) Lasith Malinga SL 647 26.38 5.06 675 v Ban at Colombo (RPS) 2007
13= (-1) Kyle Mills NZ 642 26.29 4.69 722 v Aus at Melbourne 2009
(+1) Mitchell Johnson Aus 642 25.17 4.82 724 v Ban at Darwin 2008
(+1) R Ashwin Ind 642 31.63 4.82 691 v SL at Hambantota 2012
16 ( – ) Shakib Al Hasan Ban 639 28.85 4.29 717 v Zim at Chittagong 2009
17 ( – ) Dale Steyn SA 629 29.13 5.01 666 v Ind at Nagpur 2011
18 (-6) Graeme Swann Eng 621 27.16 4.53 735 v Ind at Hyderabad 2011
19 (-1) Ray Price Zim 611 35.75 3.94 722 v WI at Guyana 2010
20 (-2) Tim Southee NZ 610 30.41 5.19 623 v SL at Hambantota 2012
Selected Rankings
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Ave Econ HS Ranking
21 (+6) Kemar Roach WI 603 26.48 5.02 634 v Aus at St. Vincent 2012
33 (-1) Stuart Broad Eng 550 27.90 5.19 701 v SA at Trent Bridge 2008
48 (+13) Andre Russell WI 478* 30.30 5.49 500 v NZ at St Kitts 2012
51 (+1) N McCullum NZ 470 50.33 4.86 479 v Eng at Napier 2013
69 (+2) Dwayne Bravo WI 431 30.98 5.32 601 v SA at Antigua 2010
70 (RE) C Mpofu Zim 425 37.85 5.27 476 v Ban at Bulawayo 2011
84 (+13) M McClenaghan NZ 383* 19.70 4.96 387 v Eng at Hamilton 2013
88 (+12) Tino Best WI 375*! 32.00 5.38 375 v Zim at Grenada 2013
91 (+1) James Franklin NZ 371 40.01 5.17 535 v SL at Jamaica 2007
All-rounders
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts HS Ranking
1 ( – ) M Hafeez Pak 428 438 v Ind at Kolkata 2013
2 ( – ) Shakib Al Hasan Ban 426 453 v Zim at Chittagong 2009
3 ( – ) Shane Watson Aus 380 433 v WI at St Lucia 2012
4 ( – ) Angelo Mathews SL 336 337 v Aus at Georgetown 2013
5 ( – ) Ravindra Jadeja Ind 333! 333 v Eng at Dharamsala 2013