England must win series against Windies to retain third position in Test rankings
A series victory will keep England ahead of New Zealand (107) on decimal points
(Web Desk) – England will have to win their upcoming three-match series against the Windies starting on Wednesday in order to retain third position in the MRF Tyres ICC Test Team Rankings.
According to details, England’s challenge starts in Bridgetown with the Joe Root-led side knowing they have to win by at least a 1-0 margin to remain ahead of fourth-ranked New Zealand.
A series victory will keep England ahead of New Zealand (107) on decimal points while a drawn series will see them drop to fourth position and 105 points.
On the other hand, Australia and Sri Lanka will vie for important points in their two-match series starting a day later.
On bowling side, In the MRF Tyres ICC Test Player Rankings, second-ranked England fast bowler James Anderson would be looking to overtake South Africa’s Kagiso Rabada, with only eight points separating them while captain Joe Root will be the top-ranked batsman for the visiting side.
For Australia, the fast bowling pair of Pat Cummins (fourth) and Josh Hazlewood (11th) among bowlers and Usman Khawana (12th) among batsmen will be the ones fancying their chances of moving up high on the rankings
However, the Windies, Roston Chase (43rd) will the leading batsman in terms of rankings and captain Jason Holder (10th) the leading bowler.
Sri Lanka captain Dinesh Chandimal (16th) will be the top-ranked batsman for the visiting side in the absence of Angelo Mathews while Dilruwan Perera (26th) will be their top bowler.
Series scenarios:
Windies v England
England win 3-0 – England 109 points, Windies 69 points
England win 2-0 – England 108, Windies 70
England win 1-0 or 2-1 – England 107, Windies 72
Drawn series – England 105, Windies 74
Windies win 1-0 or 2-1 – England 104, Windies 77
Windies win 2-0 – England 103, Windies 78
Windies win 1-0 – England 102, Windies 79
Australia v Sri Lanka
Australia win 2-0 – Australia 104 points, Sri Lanka 89 points
Australia win 1-0 – Australia 103, Sri Lanka 90
Drawn series – Australia 100, Sri Lanka 92
Sri Lanka win 1-0 – Australia 98, Sri Lanka 94
Sri Lanka win 2-0 – Australia 97, Sri Lanka 95
Upcoming fixtures:
Windies v England:
23-27 Jan: 1st Test, Bridgetown
31 Jan-4 Feb: 2nd Test, Antigua
9-13 Feb: 3rd Test, Gros Islet
Australia v Sri Lanka:
24-28 Jan: 1st Test, Brisbane
1-5 Feb: 2nd Test, Canberra
