Ahead of their meeting in the World Test Championship final next month, India have moved past Australia to No. 1 on the ICC rankings for men’s cricket. This shift, even though neither team has played any long-form cricket for two months, is essentially the result of the passage of time and how some series from a while ago have lost a bit of their value.
India’s tally went from 119 to 121 and Australia’s went from 122 to 116 because this update only takes into consideration teams’ performances after May 2020 and weighs series between May 2020 and May 2022 at 50% and the ones in the following one-year period at 100%.
Australia lost points because some of their wins from the previous cycle no longer matter in this one – like the 5-0 scoreline from the 2019-20 home summer, when they whitewashed Pakistan 2-0 and New Zealand 3-0. Also, the weight of their 4-0 Ashes win against England in 2021-22 was halved.
The rest of the Test rankings remain unchanged with only two other teams – New Zealand and South Africa at the 100-point mark. The 2021-23 WTC Cycle is now complete with the next one starting after the final.