South Africa consolidates lead at the top of the Reliance ICC Test Championship Table
South Africa batsman Hashim Amla has moved within striking distance of claiming the number-one ranking on the Reliance ICC Test Player Rankings for batsmen for the first time in his career.
Amla has moved up a place to second in the latest rankings that were released on Tuesday, a day after South Africa’s innings and 193 runs win over New Zealand at Port Elizabeth in the second and final Test. This victory gave South Africa a 2-0 series win over New Zealand.
Amla stroked 110 in the Port Elizabeth Test and earned eight rating points which, in turn, has helped him achieve a career-best 886 ratings points.
Amla is now just one rating point behind Australia captain Michael Clarke and will have a shot at the coveted position when he takes on Pakistan in the first Test of the three-match series in Johannesburg on 1 February. In contrast, Clarke only returns to the Test arena on 22 February when Australia faces India in the first Test of the four-match series in Chennai.
The two other centurions of the Port Elizabeth Test, Faf du Plessis and Dean Elgar, have also moved up in the latest batting rankings. Du Plessis is now 38th (up by five) and Dean Elgar is now at 96th (up by 49).
New Zealand’s Dean Brownlie in 43rd (up by three) and BJ Watling in 56th (up by 22) are the others batsmen to make notable upward movements.
The bowlers’ table is still headed by Dale Steyn, who has further consolidated his lead at the top after spells of five for 17 and three for 48 that also fetched him the Player of the Match award in the second Test.
Steyn has opened up 45 ratings points gap with team-mate and second-ranked Vernon Philander, who lost one per cent of his ratings point for missing the second Test due to injury.
Steyn is now just five ratings points away from returning to the magical 900-point mark, and eight ratings points away from achieving a career-best rating. In ranking terms, the 900-point mark is the benchmark for the top bowlers.
The other bowlers to make upward movements include New Zealand’s fast bowler Doug Bracewell in 37th (up by one) and South Africa duo of Robin Peterson in 50th (up by 15) and Rory Kleinveldt in 74th (up by 17).
Reliance ICC Test Championship Table
Meanwhile, South Africa has further consolidated its lead at the top of Reliance ICC Test Championship Table.
A 2-0 series win over New Zealand has earned South Africa one ratings point and has lifted it to 124 ratings points, while opening a six-point lead against second-ranked England.
The Test Championship table is updated after every series, unlike the ODI or T20I Championship tables, which are updated after every match.
Prize Money
South Africa now has three more Tests before the 1 April cut-off date for the awarding of the ICC Test Championship mace and prize money for the top-ranked Test team. These three Tests are against Pakistan, and will be played next month in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Centurion. The Proteas will need to win the series to be guaranteed number-one spot at the cut-off date for the first time, irrespective of how the three other series pan out. India hosts Australia for a four-match series from 22 February, New Zealand plays the first of a three-match series against England on 6 March in Dunedin, and West Indies plays Zimbabwe in the first of a two-match series on 16 March.
This would mean South Africa will get richer by US$450,000 and will also retain the prestigious Reliance ICC Test Championship mace.
A total of US $3.8m in prize money will be shared among the top four sides on 1 April 2013, 2014 and 2015, after the ICC Board approved a proposal earlier this year to substantially increase incentives in the form of prize money to promote Test cricket in the period leading up to the ICC Test Championship event in 2017.
Previously, the top team in the Reliance ICC Test rankings received a cheque for $175,000, but, from 2013, it will receive a minimum of $450,000, rising to $500,000 in 2015. From 2016 there will be further increases in Test prize money.
Reliance ICC Test Championship table (after South Africa-New Zealand Test series)
Rank Team Points
1. South Africa 124 (+1)
2. England 118
3. Australia 117
4. Pakistan 109
5. India 105
6. Sri Lanka 92
7. West Indies 91
8. New Zealand 78 (-1)
9. Bangladesh 0
Zimbabwe is currently unranked, as it has played insufficient matches. It has 167 points and a rating of 42.
Reliance ICC Test Player Rankings (as on 15 January after Port Elizabeth Test)
Batsmen
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Ave HS Ranking
1 ( – ) Michael Clarke Aus 887 52.54 900 v SL at Melbourne 2012
2 (+1) Hashim Amla SA 886! 51.39 886 v NZ at Port Elizabeth 2013
3 (-1) S.Chanderpaul WI 879 51.67 901 v NZ at Napier 2008
4 ( – ) K Sangakkara SL 842 55.80 938 v Eng at Kandy 2007
5 ( – ) Alastair Cook Eng 836 49.42 874 v Ind at Kolkata 2012
6 (+1) AB de Villiers SA 812 49.27 821 v Eng at The Oval 2012
7 (-1) Jacques Kallis SA 809 56.73 935 v NZ at Centurion 2007
8 ( – ) Ross Taylor NZ 769 43.57 785 v SL at Colombo (PSS) 2012
9 ( – ) Younus Khan Pak 761 51.69 880 v SL at Lahore 2009
10 ( – ) Kevin Pietersen Eng 759 49.42 909 v WI at Headingley 2007
11 ( – ) Azhar Ali Pak 753! 45.27 753 v SL at Pallekele 2012
12 ( – ) Graeme Smith SA 729 49.28 843 v Eng at Johannesburg 2010
13 ( – ) Misbah-ul-Haq Pak 720 45.68 771 v Eng at Abu Dhabi 2012
14 ( – ) Jonathan Trott Eng 709 49.50 856 v SL at Cardiff 2011
15 ( – ) Matt Prior Eng 693 43.19 698 v Ind at Ahmedabad 2012
16 ( – ) Ian Bell Eng 680 46.71 822 v Ind at The Oval 2011
17 ( – ) Marlon Samuels WI 668! 37.36 668 v Ban at Khulna 2012
18 ( – ) Darren Bravo WI 661* 46.77 709 v Aus at Port-of-Spain 2012
19 (+1) Sachin Tendulkar Ind 653 54.32 898 v Zim at Nagpur 2002
20 (+1) M Jayawardene SL 652 49.56 883 v Ind at Ahmedabad 2009
Selected Rankings
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Ave HS Ranking
21 (-2) Alviro Petersen SA 645* 42.05 655 v NZ at Cape Town 2013
30 (-6) B McCullum NZ 598 35.12 673 v Pak at Hamilton 2011
36 (+1) Mahendra Dhoni Ind 563 38.06 662 v SA at Kolkata 2010
38 (+5) Faf du Plessis SA 546*! 111.25 546 v NZ at Port Elizabeth 2013
39 (-3) Kane Williamson NZ 544* 30.27 578 v SL at Colombo (PSS) 2012
43 (+3) Dean Brownlie NZ 503*! 34.18 503 v SA at Port Elizabeth 2013
48 ( – ) Martin Guptill NZ 480 30.60 597 v WI at Kingston 2012
56 (+22) BJ Watling NZ 426*! 33.00 426 v SA at Port Elizabeth 2013
68 (-7) Daniel Flynn NZ 375 25.95 432 v Ind at Hamilton 2009
89 (-1) James Franklin NZ 269 20.71 314 v SL at Wellington 2006
96 (+49) Dean Elgar SA 249*! 41.33 249 v NZ at Port Elizabeth 2013
102 (-1) Morne Morkel SA 211 13.80 255 v Ind at Durban 2006
104 (-2) Dale Steyn SA 202 13.75 255 v SL at Cape Town 2012
115 (-3) Doug Bracewell NZ 161* 10.42 193 v Ind at Bengaluru 2012
122 (+5) Trent Boult NZ 147* 16.62 175 v SA at Dunedin 2012
142 (-2) Robin Peterson SA 83* 20.70 297 v Eng at Edgbaston 2003
150 (+3) Rory Kleinveldt SA 56* 13.50 123 v Aus at Brisbane 2012
155 (NEW) Colin Munro NZ 49*! 7.50 49 v SA at Port Elizabeth 2013
Bowlers
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Ave HS Ranking
1 ( – ) Dale Steyn SA 895 23.28 902 v SL at Centurion 2011
2 ( – ) Vernon Philander SA 850* 17.40 859 v NZ at Cape Town 2013
3 ( – ) Saeed Ajmal Pak 832 27.09 836 v SL at Galle 2012
4 ( – ) Rangana Herath SL 809 29.95 838 v NZ at Colombo (PSS) 2012
5 ( – ) Peter Siddle Aus 800 28.51 806 v SL at Hobart 2012
6 ( – ) James Anderson Eng 759 30.39 813 v Ind at Edgbaston 2011
7 ( – ) Graeme Swann Eng 755 29.13 858 v Pak at Lord’s 2010
8 ( – ) Morne Morkel SA 746 29.70 776 v Aus at Cape Town 2011
9 ( – ) Pragyan Ojha Ind 739* 31.62 773 v Eng at Kolkata 2012
10 ( – ) Ben Hilfenhaus Aus 721* 28.50 757 v WI at Port-of-Spain 2012
11 ( – ) Abdur Rehman Pak 704* 28.40 739 v Eng at Dubai 2012
12 ( – ) Kemar Roach WI 698* 27.69 712 v NZ at Kingston 2012
13 ( – ) Stuart Broad Eng 657 31.93 783 v WI at Lord’s 2012
14 ( – ) Shakib Al Hasan Ban 641 32.53 680 v WI at Mirpur 2011
15 ( – ) Zaheer Khan Ind 625 32.35 752 v SA at Durban 2010
16 (+1) Steven Finn Eng 611* 28.22 621 v SA at Lord’s 2012
17 (-1) Chris Martin NZ 606 33.81 669 v SA at Hamilton 2012
18 ( – ) Mitchell Johnson Aus 600 30.63 825 v Eng at Cardiff 2009
19 ( – ) Umar Gul Pak 584 33.66 642 v Eng at Dubai 2012
20 ( – ) R Ashwin Ind 566* 32.41 595 v Eng at Ahmedabad 2012
Selected Rankings
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Ave HS Ranking
33 ( – ) Jacques Kallis SA 490 32.40 742 v Eng at Headingley 2003
37 (+1) Doug Bracewell NZ 456* 31.89 538 v WI at Kingston 2012
44 (-3) Trent Boult NZ 372* 31.43 401 v SA at Cape Town 2013
50= (+15) Robin Peterson SA 335*! 31.08 335 v NZ at Port Elizabeth 2013
(-1) Jeetan Patel NZ 335* 48.46 368 v SL at Colombo (SSC) 2009
74 (+17) Rory Kleinveldt SA 152*! 42.50 152 v NZ at Port Elizabeth 2013
85 (-3) Kane Williamson NZ 96* 53.00 138 v WI at Kingston 2012
89 (NEW) Colin Munro NZ 73*! 20.00 73 v SA at Port Elizabeth 2013
All-rounders
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts HS Ranking
1 ( – ) Jacques Kallis SA 396 616 v Pak at Durban 2002
2 ( – ) Shakib Al Hasan Ban 387 404 v Pak at Mirpur 2011
3 ( – ) Shane Watson Aus 308/* 394 v SA at Johannesburg 2011
4 (+1) Graeme Swann Eng 288 327 v Ban at Chittagong 2010
5 (-1) Daniel Vettori NZ 285 412 v Pak at Napier 2009
