RELEASE 16 - West Indies v Bangladesh and England v New Zealand
Thank <insert deity here> that's over. If anyone here is ever tempted to study Geography at University, don't. Don't ask why, just don't.
Right, back to the cricket. Seem to have forgotten totally about the West Indies v Bangladesh series (er.. exam stress?) but I'm not likely to forget about England-New Zealand!
Home Rankings
1 Australia 1240
2 South Africa 1186
3 +1 England 1029
4 -1 India 985
5 New Zealand 866
6 +1 Sri Lanka 772
7 -1 West Indies 761
8 Pakistan 656
9 Zimbabwe 362
10 Bangladesh 33
It's less of India losing third place than England gaining it after their emphatic 3-0 whitewash of the Kiwis to expunge memories of 1999's debacle, and the strength of New Zealand overseas also serves to magnify the boost to the English total. The West Indies' failure to beat Bangladesh at St Lucia is punished, as their descent continues. The top three home sides only have two home series defeats between them - England and South Africa losing against Australia.
Away Rankings
1 Australia 1983
2 New Zealand 1045
3 South Africa 1008
4 England 993
5 Pakistan 959
6 India 924
7 Sri Lanka 656
8 West Indies 292
9 Zimbabwe 183
10 Bangladesh 116
No positional changes, but New Zealand are brought within range of the chasing four after their heavy defeat at the hands of England. Bangladesh are now well and truly within range of the Zimbabweans after their momentus, century-filled draw in the Caribbean.
Overall Rankings
1 Australia 1587 (+20)
2 South Africa 1097 (+4)
3 +2 England 1010 (+71)
4 India 955 (+3)
5 -2 New Zealand 950 (-73)
6 Pakistan 807 (+8)
7 Sri Lanka 721 (+3)
8 West Indies 526 (-18)
9 Zimbabwe 267 (+5)
10 Bangladesh 82 (+41)
The combination of England's big win and New Zealand's heavy defeat means that the two sides swap positions in the Overall table, trading off a huge 144 points between them (the third highest in the rankings' history - after Pakistan's thrashing in South Africa cost them 150 over Christmas 2002, and India took 147 out of Australia last winter).
India remain in fourth place, inbetween the two, whilst the West Indies fall further from the chasing pack. Congratulations to Bangladesh, who doubled their ranking points total after their performance in the West Indies. Australia's big gain comes from the fact that their Ashes win in 2001 in England is now worth more - they're the only side to win on their last tour here.