This is What You Need to Know about the ICC Cricket Ranking

If you are interested in knowing the rankings of a particular national team or who the top twenty batsman or bowlers are in each of the three formats, then this is definitely the place to be. Below we will explain how the ICC rankings for test, ODI, and T20 cricket are calculated as well as provide the latest tables for all three formats. Knowing this information can help you when it comes to online cricket betting.

ICC Test Rankings Explained

The ICC Test Championship is an ICC competition for the twelve test-playing nations. In reality, it is not exactly a competition as it is simply a ranking system that is used alongside all international test matches to give some indication as to which team is the best in the world at test cricket.

However, having said that, the team that sits at the top of the ranking are given the ICC Test Championship mace and get to hold onto it until they are displaced by another team. Furthermore, the team that is first on the 1st April each year is awarded $1 million.

How Are the Points Calculated?

When two teams compete in a series, the table is updated as pointed out below.

1. 1. 1 point to the team that wins the match.
   2. 0.5 points to each team if the match is drawn.
   3. 1 extra point to the winner of the series.

1. 0.5 extra points to both teams if it is a drawn series.

The points gained then need to be converted into rating points.

If the gap between the two teams in the rankings table is fewer than 40 points, the rating points are calculated as follows:

• (Team’s accumulated series points) x (opponent’s rating + 50) + (opponent’s series points) x (opponent’s rating – 50)

Since this formula is only used when there is a gap of fewer than 40 points between the two teams, the series winner will always receive more rating points than they originally had, while the losing team will always receive fewer points than they had.
When it comes to draws, the team lower in the rankings will receive more rating points than they already had, while the team that was deemed stronger will receive fewer.

If the gap between the two teams is 40 or more, the rating points are calculated as shown below:

For the team deemed to be stronger

• (Own series points) x (own rating + 10) + (opponent’s series points) x (own rating -90)

For the team that is deemed to be weaker

• (Own series points) x (own rating + 90) + (opponent’s series points) x (own rating -10)

So, once again, the match’s winner will always receive more points than they had, while the team that loses will always receive fewer points than they had. The weaker team will be better off in the case of a draw.

How the Table is Then Updated

1. The rating points earned are added to the rating points they received from previous matches.
2. The number of matches played is updated by adding the series points that were available. This will always be one more than the number of games that were played in the series because an extra point is rewarded to the winner of the series. For example, a three-match test series will see the match count increase by four.
3. To get the new ratings, the new rating points are divided by a new number of matches.

Every May, the points that were received 3-4 years are taken away and those points earned 1-2 years ago only have a 50% weighting instead of 100%. For example, in May 2019, the matches that occurred between May 2015 and 2016 were taken away, and those matches played from May 2017 to May 2018 changed to 50% weighting.

Current Test Rankings

Ranking	Team	Matches	Points	Rating
1	India	35	4,027	115
2	New Zealand	26	2,829	109
3	South Africa	27	2,917	108
4	England	42	4,366	104
5	Australia	33	3,270	99
6	Sri Lanka	40	3,795	95
7	Pakistan	27	2,263	84
8	West Indies	32	2,570	80
9	Bangladesh	23	1,413	61
10	Afghanistan	3	165	55
11	Zimbabwe	9	140	16
12	Ireland	3	0	0

Historical Rankings

The table below reveals how long each team has held the number one spot for.

Team	Total Number of Months	Highest Rating
Australia	326	143
West Indies	235	135
England	106	125
India	81	130
South Africa	61	135
Pakistan	4	111

ICC ODI Team Rankings Explained

The ICC ODI Championship is a competition for the twenty ODI-playing nations. However, just like the ICC Test Championship, it is not really a competition as it is a ranking system that is used alongside all international ODI matches to give show which team is the best in the world when it comes to ODI cricket.

However, the team that sits at the top of the table is presented with the ICC ODI Championship shield. This tradition started back in 2002 when Ricky Ponting received it.

How the ODI Rankings Are Calculated

Teams receive points based on their match results from the last 3-4 years. Every May, the points earned 3-4 years ago are deleted and the ranking points earned 1-2 years ago have just a 50% weighting instead of 100%. Therefore, in May 2019, the matches that were played from May 2015 and 2016 were deleted, and those played from May 2017 and 2018 lost 50% of their weighting.

If the gap between the two teams that played is fewer than 40, then the points earned are calculated as follows:

Win = Opponent’s rating + 50

Draw = Opponent’s rating

Loss = Opponent’s rating – 50

If the gap is 40 points or more, then the points earned are calculated as follows:

Stronger team wins = Own rating + 10

Weaker team loses = Own rating – 10

Stronger team draws = Own rating – 40

Weaker team draws = Own rating + 40

Stronger team loses = Own rating – 90

Weaker team wins = Own rating + 90

Current ODI Rankings

Ranking	Team	Matches	Points	Rating
1	England	54	6,745	125
2	India	58	7,071	122
3	New Zealand	43	4,837	112
4	Australia	50	5,543	111
5	South Africa	47	5,193	110
6	Pakistan	49	4,756	110
7	Bangladesh	46	3,963	97
8	Sri Lanka	54	4,425	86
9	West Indies	48	3,675	82
10	Afghanistan	40	2,359	77
11	Ireland	29	1,466	59
12	Zimbabwe	35	1,538	51
13	Netherlands	6	222	44
14	Scotland	15	534	36
15	Namibia	8	183	23
16	Oman	8	174	22
17	Nepal	8	152	19
18	United States	8	115	14
19	United Arab Emirates	15	144	10
20	Papua New Guinea	17	0	0

Historical Rankings

In the table below you will be able to see how long each team has held the number one spot for in ODI cricket. This dates from 1981 to the present.

Team	Total Number of Months	Highest Rating
Australia	198	140
West Indies	99	141`
South Africa	71	134
England	52	135
India	25	127
Pakistan	3	131

ICC World T20 Rankings Explained

The ICC T20 Championship is a competition organised by the ICC. However, just like we mentioned for the Test and ODI rankings above, it is not exactly a real competition as it is simply a ranking system used alongside T20 matches to determine the best T20 international side in the world.

How the T20 Rankings Are Calculated

Every May, the points that were earned from matches 3-4 years ago are deleted, and those that were earned between 1-2 years ago drop from 100% weighting to a 50% weighting. For example, in May 2019, the matches that were played from May 2015-2016 were taken away, and those played between May 2017 and 2018 decreased to a 50% weighting.

If the gap between the two teams that played is fewer than 40, then the points earned are calculated as follows:

If the gap is 40 points or more, then the points earned are calculated as follows

Current T20 Rankings

Rank	Team	Matches	Points	Ratings
1	Pakistan	26	7,365	283
2	England	16	4,253	266
3	South Africa	16	4,196	262
4	India	31	8,099	261
5	Australia	21	5,471	261
6	New Zealand	17	4,333	255
7	Afghanistan	16	3,849	241
8	Sri Lanka	19	4,297	226
9	West Indies	24	5,378	224
10	Bangladesh	16	3,525	220
11	Nepal	14	2,818	201
12	Scotland	11	2,185	199
13	United Arab Emirates	18	3,453	192
14	Zimbabwe	13	2,477	191
15	Ireland	21	3,834	183
16	Papua New Guinea	22	3,834	174
17	Netherlands	15	2,607	174
18	Oman	5	774	155
19	Hong Kong	8	1,213	152
20	Namibia	14	2038	146

* There are another 64 teams in the rankings table, but we didn’t think there was any need to add every single one.

ICC Player Rankings Explained

When it comes to player rankings, players are evaluated from 0 to 1,000 points. How many points a player gets for his performance in a particular match is determined by a number of circumstances. All is revealed in detail below.

Test Match Cricket

Batsmen are evaluated based on:

1. How many runs they scored.
2. The player ratings of the bowlers that he faced. If the bowlers are high up the rankings, the batsman will be awarded more points.
3. The team’s total. For example, scoring a century in a match where the whole team scored over 600 runs is not worth as many points as a century in a match where the team was bowled out for just 250 runs.
4. Whether they got out or not. If a batsman is not out, he will receive more points.
5. The result. If a batman scores a lot of runs in a winning cause, they will be rewarded more ranking points. Also, if the opponents were highly rated, a batsman will pick up a nice number of points if he scores a lot of runs against them.

Bowlers are evaluated based on:

1. How many wickets they take and how many runs they concede.
2. The batting rankings of the batsmen that they dismiss. For example, getting Steve Smith out will be worth more points than bowling Jimmy Anderson through the gate.
3. The amount of runs that were scored in the game. For example, 3 wickets for 50 runs in a high-scoring game will reward more points than similar figures in a low-scoring game.
4. The workload that they do. Bowlers who bowl many overs get given some leeway, even if they pick up no wickets.
5. The result of the match. Those bowlers that pick up many wickets to help their team win will receive bonus points. If the team they beat is rated high, they will receive more bonus points.

To get a player’s ratings, the performance they put in during their latest match is added to their previous ratings and then changed into points. More recent performances obviously have a greater impact on the ratings, but all performances from the start of his career are still taken into consideration. This means that a fantastic player who has been off form for a while will still have a decent rating.

Every new player begins with 0 points and can only receive full ratings when they have managed to establish themselves. For instance, a batsman who has played just ten test innings will only get 70% of his rating. In other words, it will be between 0 and 700. He cannot get 100% until he has play in 40 innings. If a bowler has taken 30 wickets, he will also only get 70% of his rating. He cannot get 100% until he has picked up at least 100 wickets. Therefore, new players can find themselves in the top 30 pretty quickly, but in order to get into the top ten, they will have to notch up many test matches.

If a player misses a test match, no matter the reason, they will lose 1% of their points.

Current Top Twenty Test Batsmen

Position	Player	Country	Rating
1	Steve Smith	Australia	937
2	Virat Kholi	India	903
3	Kane Williamson	New Zealand	878
4	Cheteshwar Pujara	India	825
5	Henry Nicholls	New Zealand	749
6	Joe Root	England	731
7	Ajinkya Rahane	India	725
8	Tom Latham	New Zealand	724
9	Dimuth Karunaratne	Sri Lanka	723
10	Aiden Markam	South Africa	719
11	Quinton de Kock	South Africa	718
12	Faf du Plessis	South Africa	702
13	Ben Stokes	England	685
14	Ross Taylor	New Zealand	669
15	Hashim Amla	South Africa	664
16	Babar Azam	Pakistan	658
17	Kusal Mendis	Sri Lanka	645
18	Asad Shafiq	Pakistan	643
18	Angelo Matthews	Sri Lanka	643
20	Dean Elgar	South Africa	639

Current Top Twenty Test Bowlers

Position	Player	Country	Rating
1	Pat Cummins	Australia	908
2	Kagiso Rabada	South Africa	851
3	Jasprit Bumrah	India	835
4	Jason Holder	West Indies	814
5	Vernon Philander	South Africa	813
6	James Anderson	England	798
7	Trent Boult	New Zealand	795
8	Neil Wagner	New Zealand	785
9	Kemar Roach	West Indies	780
10	Mohammad Abbas	Pakistan	770
11	Ravindra Jadeja	India	764
12	Josh Hazlewood	Australia	754
12	Tim Southee	New Zealand	754
14	Ravichandran Ashwin	India	747
15	Stuart Broad	England	740
16	Yasir Shah	Pakistan	710
17	Mitchell Starc	Australia	689
18	Mohammad Shami	Pakistan	680
18	Shannon Gabriel	West Indies	680
20	Ishant Sharma	India	677

 

ODI and T20 Cricket

The criteria for ODI and T20 player ratings are quite similar to those used for test cricket. However, there are some important differences, which can be seen below.

1. Batsmen gain a lot of credit for scoring rapidly.
2. Bowlers gain a lot of credit for bowling economically.
3. If a player misses a match for their country, they will lose only 0.5% of their points.

Current Top Twenty ODI Batsmen

Position	Player	Country	Rating
1	Virat Kholi	India	895
2	Rohit Sharma	India	863
3	Babar Azam	Pakistan	827
4	Faf du Plessis	South Africa	820
5	Ross Taylor	New Zealand	817
6	Kane Williamson	New Zealand	796
7	David Warner	Australia	794
8	Joe Root	England	787
9	Quinton de Kock	South Africa	781
10	Jason Roy	England	774
11	Imam-ul-Haq	Pakistan	764
11	Aaron Finch	Australia	764
13	Jonny Bairstow	England	758
14	Shai Hope	West Indies	729
15	Usman Khawaja	Australia	727
16	Jos Buttler	England	717
17	Mushfiqur Rahim	Bangladesh	713
18	Fakhar Zaman	Pakistan	711
19	Shikhar Dhawan	India	702
20	Ben Stokes	England	694

 

Current Top Twenty ODI Bowlers

Position	Player	Country	Rating
1	Jasprit Bumrah	India	797
2	Trent Boult	New Zealand	740
3	Kagiso Rabada	South Africa	694
4	Pat Cummins	Australia	693
5	Imran Tahir	South Africa	683
6	Mujeez Zadran	Afghanistan	681
7	Chris Woakes	England	676
8	Mitchell Starc	Australia	663
9	Rashid Khan	Afghanistan	658
10	Matt Henry	New Zealand	656
11	Lachlan Ferguson	New Zealand	649
12	Kuldeep Yadav	India	642
13	Mohammad Amir	Pakistan	636
14	Tim Murtagh	Ireland	635
15	Akila Dananjaya	Sri Lanka	631
16	Yuzvendra Chahal	India	629
17	Bhuveneshwar Kumar	India	626
18	Mehedi Hasan	Bangladesh	617
19	Mohammad Nabi	Afghanistan	616
20	Mustafizur Rahman	Bangladesh	610

Current Top Twenty T20 Batsmen

Position	Player	Country	Rating
1	Babar Azam	Pakistan	896
2	Glenn Maxwell	Australia	815
3	Colin Munro	New Zealand	796
4	Aaron Finch	Australia	782
5	Hazratullah	Afghanistan	727
6	D’arcy Short	Australia	715
7	Fakhar Zaman	Pakistan	681
8	Alex Hales	England	664
8	Rohit Sharma	India	664
10	Lokesh Rahul	India	662
11	Virat Kohli	India	659
12	Reeza Hendricks	South Africa	642
13	Shikar Dhawan	India	639
14	Jason Roy	England	635
15	Evin Lewis	West Indies	630
16	Martin Guptil	New Zealand	624
17	Kane Williamson	New Zealand	616
18	Joe Root	England	613
19	Eoin Morgan	England	596
20	Shaiman Anwar	United Arab Emirates	594

Current Top T20 Bowlers

Position	Player	Country	Rating
1	Rashid Khan	Afghanistan	757
2	Imad Wasim	Pakistan	710
3	Shadab Khan	Pakistan	706
4	Adil Rashid	England	702
5	Mitchell Santner	New Zealand	673
6	Adam Zampa	Australia	672
7	Andile Phehlukwayo	South Africa	668
8	Shakib Al Hasan	Bangladesh	663
9	Mujeeb Zadran	Afghanistan	652
10	Faheem Ashraf	Pakistan	641
11	Ish Sodhi	New Zealand	637
12	David Willey	England	636
13	Chris Jordan	England	635
14	Kuldeep Yadav	India	632
15	Tim Southee	New Zealand	623
16	Liam Plunkett	England	617
17	Mohammad Nabi	Afghanistan	613
18	Billy Stanlake	Australia	600
19	Akila Dananajaya	Sri Lanka	597
20	Tabraiz Shamsi	South Africa	592