Australia aims to extend Test Championship lead
Australia can boost its official Test rating to 130 for the first time since the ratings system was introduced in May 2003 if it wins both matches in the forthcoming two Test Match series against Zimbabwe starting at Perth on Thursday 9 October
ICC Media Release
08-Oct-2003
Australia can boost its official Test rating to 130 for the first time since the ratings system was introduced in May 2003 if it wins both matches in the forthcoming two Test Match series against Zimbabwe starting at Perth on Thursday 9 October.
Australia has completely dominated the Test ratings since they were relaunched, complementing its commanding lead in the ODI table. Its Test rating is not yet as high as its ODI rating of 135 but a convincing victory over Zimbabwe would put it on course to reach this level if it goes on to have a successful home series against India later in the season.
To maintain its rating at this very high current level, Australia would need to win both Tests. A 1-0 series victory, would see them drop one rating point to 128. However a tied series or an away series victory would lead to a far more significant ratings drop for Australia, although not enough to threaten their leadership.
Zimbabwe has struggled in recent Test series, not winning a match since the second Test against Bangladesh in November 2001. As a result it has lost touch with the leading eight nations in the official table but if it can have any success on Australian soil it will begin to close this gap.
A tied series would boost its rating to 63 while a 2-0 victory would see its rating rise by 11 points to 69, although still 14 behind the West Indies.
The ICC Test Championship table correct on 6 October 2003
| Team | Rating | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Australia | 129 |
| 2 | South Africa | 116 |
| 3 | New Zealand | 106 |
| 4 | England | 104 |
| 5 | India | 94 |
| 6 | Pakistan | 92 |
| 7 | Sri Lanka | 91 |
| 8 | West Indies | 83 |
| 9 | Zimbabwe | 58 |
| 10 | Bangladesh | 0 |
Developed by David Kendix.
Full scenarios for Australia v Zimbabwe Test series:
| Australia | Zimbabwe | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current rating: | 129 | 58 | ||
| Possible series outcomes: | ||||
| Australia wins by 2 Tests (2-0) | 130 | 57 | ||
| Australia wins by 1 Test (1-0) | 128 | 59 | ||
| Series drawn (0-0, 1-1) | 125 | 63 | ||
| Zimbabwe wins by 1 Test (1-0) | 123 | 67 | ||
| Zimbabwe wins by 2 Tests (2-0) | 121 | 69 | ||
Gundappa Viswanath from the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Referees will officiate on the series. Srinivas Venkataraghavan from the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Umpires will stand in both Tests alongside Peter Willey from the Emirates International Panel in the first match and Billy Bowden from the Emirates Elite Panel in the second match.
The impact future results will have on the ratings is available on the official ICC website. For a full explanation of how the ratings are calculated, visit www.icc.cricket.org.
ICC media contacts:
| Brendan McClements | Jon Long |
| General Manager - Corporate Affairs | Project Officer - Corporate Affairs |
| Mobile: + 44 (0) 7786 194974 | Mobile: + 44 (0) 7946 545090 |
| E Mail: jon.long@icc-cricket.com |