Australia and South Africa Get Ready for Test Series
According to International Cricket Council (ICC), Australia and South Africa will go head to head in an exciting three-Test cricket series starting in Perth on Thursday.
Australia is currently ranked third on 108 points, while South Africa is in fifth spot on 96 points. Any side making a sweep of the series will jump in the MRF Tyres ICC Test Team Rankings.
A 3-0 win will put Australia on 112 points and ahead of Pakistan in second place even if the Asian side defeats the West Indies by 3-0.
In contrast, South Africa will join England on 105 points if it wins 3-0 but will be fraction of a point behind in fourth place, whereas Australia will drop to fifth on 102 points.
[ Also Read: Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane Receive Arjuna Award ]
A 2-1 series win for Australia will mean it will gain two points and South Africa will drop one point, but Australia will slip behind England by a fraction and South Africa will rise to 102 points when the series result is reversed.
Australia captain Steve Smith will start the series as the number-one ranked batsman, leading South Africa’s third-ranked batsman Hashim Amla by 59 points.
Adam Voges (seventh), David Warner (ninth), Faf de Plessis (25th), Dean Elgar (28th) and Quinton de Kock (30th) are the other batsmen inside the top 30 to feature in the series.
[ Cricketer Virat Kohli Stars in ‘Made of Bold’ Film ]
Amongst the bowlers, second-ranked Dale Steyn trails India’s number-one ranked Ravichandran Ashwin by 22 points, while Mitchell Starc is Australia’s highest-ranked bowler in eighth position – 69 points ahead of South Africa’s 10th-ranked Vernon Philander.
Bowlers outside the top 10 and aiming to improve their rankings include Josh Hazlewood (11th), Morne Morkel (13th), Nathan Lyon (14th) and Peter Siddle (19th).
In the all-rounders’ list, which is headed by Ashwin, Starc is the highest-ranked player from either side in sixth position – 15 points ahead of Philander.
Photo courtesy: International Cricket Council (ICC)
