Australia, despite their defeat to South Africa in the World Test Championship (WTC) final at Lord’s, maintain their spot at the top of the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) latest update on the Test rankings. The Pat Cummins-led side suffered a crushing defeat thanks to Aiden Markram’s legendary knock alongside Kagiso Rabada’s nine-wicket haul. Apart from the duo’s heroics, key contributions by the captain, Temba Bavuma, helped Proteas win their first major honour in 27 years.
However, the rankings, which were updated after the WTC result, show that Australia maintained their stronghold at the top, having taken 123 rating points in the 26 matches played.
Meanwhile, the WTC winners, South Africa, have jumped up to second in the charts after their historic win. They now have 114 rating points in the 22 matches played so far. They managed to get past England for the second position and now have a one-point gap between these two sides. It should also be noted that beating the top-ranked side results in the highest points weightage and the Proteas were awarded three rating points for their win at Lord’s.
The Proteas’ Test side will be back in action for a two-match series against Zimbabwe that is set to begin on June 28, later this month. Table-topper Australia will also be back with the Test tour to West Indies for a three-match series beginning on June 25.
India hold the fourth spot after their whitewash at home against New Zealand, followed by the series defeat to Australia in the Border-Gavaskar trophy that ended earlier this year. With Shubman Gill at the helm as their new skipper and senior stalwarts like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma retiring from Test cricket, the Indian team will embark on a new journey where they hope to reach greater heights.
The Test team rankings could see a big change with England set to play hosts for a five-match Test series against India set to begin on June 20. Both sides will be keen on starting off the 2025-2027 WTC cycle on a positive note and rack up as many wins as possible.
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