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| November 1, 2002 | Friday | Sha’aban 25,1423 |
Pakistan fourth in new ODI rankings
LONDON, Oct 31: Australia’s domination of world cricket was further confirmed Thursday when the International Cricket Council (ICC) unveiled the new One-day International Championship rankings.
The world champions head the inaugural list, which is comprised of all ten Test nations and Kenya, followed by South Africa and Sri Lanka.
Pakistan, India and England complete the top six.
The new system, which was devised by Lord’s official scorer David Kendix, is intended to provide a context for every One-day game played, eliminating the so-called “dead rubbers” where an individual match has no bearing on the outcome of a series or competition.
“One-day International cricket is a hugely important and successful part of the international game and official recognition of outstanding team performance is long overdue,” said ICC Chief Executive Malcolm Speed as the new system was unveiled at Lord’s.
“Now the result of every one of the 120 or so matches that will be played between the 11 ODI countries over the next 12 months will count towards a country’s rating. This will add a new dimension to the playing side of the game and contribute towards a greater spectator interest,” he added.
The system has been designed to stand alongside the existing Test rankings, but places greater emphasis on current form, taking into account all ODI matches played over the previous 2-3 years, with the oldest results being constantly replaced by the newest.
The key principles in determining a side’s ranking are the relative strength of opposition — there is greater reward for beating a higher ranked side — and the equal weighting given to all matches, irrespective of significance, venue or the margin of victory.
The results table will be updated after each match and posted on the ICC website (www.icc.cricket.org) to allow fans to track their side’s progress.
A trophy to be held by the Championship leaders is being constructed.
Bangladesh’s appalling record in one-dayers — they have lost their last 23 matches since beating Pakistan in a ‘dead rubber’ match at the 1999 World Cup — means they are bottom under Kenya.
Rankings: 1. Australia 128 points; 2. South Africa 120; 3. Sri Lanka 117; 4. Pakistan 115; 5. India 106; 6. England 96; 7. West Indies 94; 8. New Zealand 91; 9. Zimbabwe 67; 10. Kenya 22; 11. Bangladesh 11.—AFP/Reuters
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