ICC clarifies New Zealand's Test ranking after win over Pakistan
The official Twitter handle of ICC issued a clarification regarding New Zealand's position on the Test ranking table. This comes in after several reports stated New Zealand had become the top-ranked Test team in the world following their victory over Pakistan in the recently concluded Test.
The Internal Cricket Council (ICC), however, clarified the same with a Tweet that read:
"New Zealand move closer to the No.1 spot in the @MRFWorldwide ICC Test Team Rankings with a stirring win over Pakistan! They will confirm their place at the top if they win the #NZvPAK Test series"
How do the ICC Test Rankings Work?
The ICC rating system is based on allotting points to teams for every Test match played, and then averaging it out over all Tests played by the team during the period under consideration. The final rating is an average score for the team during that period.
The points awarded to a team depends on the strength of the opposition. A win against a stronger opposition counts for more points than a win against a weaker side. The strength of the opposition is determined by their rating points at the start of the series.
It is pertinent to note that updates take place only at the end of a series, not after each Test match. A series win counts as an extra Test match won. Therefore, if a team wins a series 2-1, it will count as a 3-1 win when points are being awarded.
ICC Test Rankings - Points Calculation
Each team gets one point for a Test win, 0.5 points for a draw, and an extra point for a series win. Thus, if New Zealand win the two-Test series against Pakistsn 2-0, they will get 3 points, while Pakistan will get 0. In case the series ends in a 1-1 draw, both teams get a point each for their respective match wins, and no points for the series.
As per ICC's latest points table update on 14 December 2020, New Zealand stand 2nd, just behind Australia.