Three teams eye third spot

Published April 11, 2004

LONDON, April 10: England, India and Pakistan all have a chance of claiming third spot in the ICC Test Championship table going into final matches of their current cricket series in West Indies and Pakistan.

A win or draw in their final Test match against West Indies in Antigua will lift England to third in official table unless Pakistan win their final match in Rawalpindi against India.

Victory in Antigua would complete a 4-0 series whitewash and boost England's rating from 101 to 104 while a drawn final match will push England's rating to 103.

Either outcome will be enough to guarantee England's move up the official table to third unless Pakistan can win the final decisive match of its home series against India.

If Pakistan win in Rawalpindi it will take the series 2-1 and hold on to third spot with a rating of 105. A draw will leave the series tied and Pakistan's rating will remain on 102 - the same as it was before the historic series started in Multan on March 28.

India's rating was boosted from 95 to 100 by their strong showing in the recent drawn series against runaway leaders Australia. They now need to win the final Test in Pakistan to climb above their neighbours in the ICC Test Championship table for the first time since August 2003.

A 2-1 series win for India would lift their rating to 102 while Pakistan's rating would slide to 99.-Agencies

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