This is What You Need to Know about the ICC Cricket Ranking

If you are interested in knowing the rankings of a particular national cricket team or who the top twenty batsman or bowlers are in each of the three formats, then this is definitely the place to be. Below we will explain how the ICC rankings for test, ODI, and T20 cricket are calculated as well as provide the latest tables for all three formats. Knowing this information can help you when it comes to making a match prediction or calculating odds for online cricket betting.

ICC Test Rankings Explained

The ICC Test Championship is an ICC competition for the twelve test-playing nations. In reality, it is not exactly a competition as it is simply a ranking system that is used alongside all international test matches to give some indication as to which team is the best in the world at test cricket.

However, having said that, not only do the best teams benefit from improved odds on the best cricket betting sites, the team that sits at the top of the ranking are given the ICC Test Championship mace and get to hold onto it until they are displaced by another team. Furthermore, the team that is first on the 1st April each year is awarded $1 million.

How Are the Points Calculated?

When two teams compete in a series, the table is updated as pointed out below.

1. 1 point to the team that wins the match.
2. 5 points to each team if the match is drawn.
3. 1 extra point to the winner of the series.

1. 5 extra points to both teams if it is a drawn series.

The points gained then need to be converted into rating points. If the gap between the two teams in the rankings table is fewer than 40 points, the rating points are calculated as follows:

• (Team's accumulated series points) x (opponent's rating + 50) + (opponent's series points) x (opponent's rating - 50)

Since this formula is only used when there is a gap of fewer than 40 points between the two teams, the series winner will always receive more rating points than they originally had, while the losing team will always receive fewer points than they had. When it comes to draws, the team lower in the rankings will receive more rating points than they already had, while the team that was deemed stronger will receive fewer. If the gap between the two teams is 40 or more, the rating points are calculated as shown below: For the team deemed to be stronger

• (Own series points) x (own rating + 10) + (opponent's series points) x (own rating -90)

For the team that is deemed to be weaker:

• (Own series points) x (own rating + 90) + (opponent's series points) x (own rating -10)

So, once again, the match's winner will always receive more points than they had, while the team that loses will always receive fewer points than they had. The weaker team will be better off in the case of a draw.

How the Table is Then Updated

1. The rating points earned are added to the rating points they received from previous matches.
2. The number of matches played is updated by adding the series points that were available. This will always be one more than the number of games that were played in the series because an extra point is rewarded to the winner of the series. For example, a three-match test series will see the match count increase by four.
3. To get the new ratings, the new rating points are divided by a new number of matches.

Every May, the points that were received 3-4 years are taken away and those points earned 1-2 years ago only have a 50% weighting instead of 100%. For example, in May 2019, the matches that occurred between May 2015 and 2016 were taken away, and those matches played from May 2017 to May 2018 changed to 50% weighting.

Current Test Cricket Rankings

Last Update: September 2024

Historical Rankings

The table below reveals how long each team has held the number one spot for.

Last Update: September 2024

How the ODI Rankings Are Calculated

Teams receive points based on their match results from the last 3-4 years. Every May, the points earned 3-4 years ago are deleted and the ranking points earned 1-2 years ago have just a 50% weighting instead of 100%. Therefore, in May 2019, the matches that were played from May 2015 and 2016 were deleted, and those played from May 2017 and 2018 lost 50% of their weighting.

If the gap between the two teams that played is fewer than 40, then the points earned are calculated as follows:

Win = Opponent's rating + 50

Draw = Opponent's rating

Loss = Opponent's rating - 50

If the gap is 40 points or more, then the points earned are calculated as follows:

Stronger team wins = Own rating + 10

Weaker team loses = Own rating - 10

Stronger team draws = Own rating - 40

Weaker team draws = Own rating + 40

Stronger team loses = Own rating - 90

Weaker team wins = Own rating + 90

Current ODI Rankings

Last Update: September 2024

Historical ICC Rankings

In the table below you will be able to see how long each team has held the number one spot for in ODI cricket. This dates from 1981 to the present.

How the T20 Rankings Are Calculated

Every May, the points that were earned from matches 3-4 years ago are deleted, and those that were earned between 1-2 years ago drop from 100% weighting to a 50% weighting. For example, in May 2019, the matches that were played from May 2015-2016 were taken away, and those played between May 2017 and 2018 decreased to a 50% weighting.

If the gap between the two teams that played is fewer than 40, then the points earned are calculated as follows:

Win = Opponent's rating + 50

Draw = Opponent's rating

Loss = Opponent's rating - 50

If the gap is 40 points or more, then the points earned are calculated as follows:

Stronger team wins = Own rating + 10

Weaker team loses = Own rating - 10

Stronger team draws = Own rating - 40

Weaker team draws = Own rating + 40

Stronger team loses = Own rating - 90

Weaker team wins = Own rating + 90

Current T20 Rankings

Last Update: September 2024

* There are another 67 teams in the rankings table, but we didn’t think there was any need to add every single one.

Test Match Cricket

Batsmen are evaluated based on:

1. How many runs they scored.
2. The player ratings of the bowlers that he faced. If the bowlers are high up the rankings, the batsman will be awarded more points.
3. The team’s total. For example, scoring a century in a match where the whole team scored over 600 runs is not worth as many points as a century in a match where the team was bowled out for just 250 runs.
4. Whether they got out or not. If a batsman is not out, he will receive more points.
5. The result. If a batman scores a lot of runs in a winning cause, they will be rewarded more ranking points. Also, if the opponents were highly rated, a batsman will pick up a nice number of points if he scores a lot of runs against them.

Bowlers are evaluated based on:

1. How many wickets they take and how many runs they concede.
2. The batting rankings of the batsmen that they dismiss. For example, getting Steve Smith out will be worth more points than bowling Jimmy Anderson through the gate.
3. The amount of runs that were scored in the game. For example, 3 wickets for 50 runs in a high-scoring game will reward more points than similar figures in a low-scoring game.
4. The workload that they do. Bowlers who bowl many overs get given some leeway, even if they pick up no wickets.
5. The result of the match. Those bowlers that pick up many wickets to help their team win will receive bonus points. If the team they beat is rated high, they will receive more bonus points.

To get a player's ratings, the performance they put in during their latest match is added to their previous ratings and then changed into points. More recent performances obviously have a greater impact on the ratings, but all performances from the start of his career are still taken into consideration. This means that a fantastic player who has been off form for a while will still have a decent rating. Every new player begins with 0 points and can only receive full ratings when they have managed to establish themselves.

For instance, a batsman who has played just ten test innings will only get 70% of his rating. In other words, it will be between 0 and 700. He cannot get 100% until he has play in 40 innings. If a bowler has taken 30 wickets, he will also only get 70% of his rating. He cannot get 100% until he has picked up at least 100 wickets. Therefore, new players can find themselves in the top 30 pretty quickly, but in order to get into the top ten, they will have to notch up many test matches. If a player misses a test match, no matter the reason, they will lose 1% of their points.

Current Top Twenty Test Batsmen

Last Update: September 2024

Current Top Twenty Test Bowlers

Last Update: September 2024

ODI and T20 Cricket

The criteria for ODI and T20 player ratings are quite similar to those used for test cricket. However, there are some important differences, which can be seen below.

1. Batsmen gain a lot of credit for scoring rapidly.
2. Bowlers gain a lot of credit for bowling economically.
3. If a player misses a match for their country, they will lose only 0.5% of their points.

Current Top Twenty ODI Batsmen

Last Update: September 2024

Current Top Twenty ODI Bowlers

Last Update: September 2024

Current Top Twenty T20 Batsmen

Last Update: September 2024

Current Top T20 Bowlers

Last Update: September 2024