Kuala Lumpur , 1 March 2008
Sri Lanka’s consolation victory in tri-series keeps it ahead of England in sixth place LG ICC ODI Championship Table
Reigning champion Australia has been confirmed as the top seed for this September’s ICC Champions Trophy in Pakistan after the completion of the preliminary round matches of the tri-series in Melbourne on Friday.
The cut-off date for the determination of the seedings for the ICC Champions Trophy 2008 is 12 March. But with only the finals of the tri-series remaining, the LG ICC ODI Championship table can not be changed irrespective of how the best-of-three final pans out.
South Africa, winners of the inaugural tournament in 1998 in Bangladesh, will be seeded second followed by New Zealand, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, England and the West Indies in the eight-team tournament. The groupings will be announced on 12 March.
Sri Lanka avoided a slip in the LG ICC ODI Championship table, the yardstick to decide teams seedings, when it signed off with a 13-run victory over Australia . Had Australia won the game, Sri Lanka would have slipped to seventh position with England moving up to sixth place.
Australia and India will now go head-to-head in the best-of-three finals, aware of the fact that whatever the outcome, the championship table will not change.
However, if India wins the final in two matches Ricky Ponting’s side will drop to 127 ratings points, same as South Africa but ahead of Graeme Smith’s side when the points are calculated beyond the decimal point.
Likewise, India will also join New Zealand on 113 ratings points but will remain in fourth position when the points are calculated beyond the decimal point.
On the other hand, if Australia wins the tournament in two straight matches, it will go to 132 ratings points with India staying on 110 points. A 2-1 win for Australia would mean that the home team would finish on 130 points while India would return home on 111 ratings points.
In the latest LG ICC Player Rankings for ODI batsmen, no Sri Lanka batsman now figures in top 10 after Kumar Sangakkara dropped four places to 12th position. Captain Mahela Jayawardena is in 20th position.
Ponting leads the batsmen’s list with Adam Gilchrist breathing down his neck in second place after rising four places. Gilchrist, who retires after this series, is just 32 points behind and has a realistic chance of signing off on top of the list.
Besides Gilchrist, Matthew Hayden is the only other Australia batsman to make some progress while Michael Clarke, Mike Hussey and Andrew Symonds all slipped down the ladder. Hayden climbed one place to 11th position while Clarke slipped three places to fifth position, Hussey dropped two places to seventh spot and Symonds fell three positions to 14th spot.
For India , captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni is the highest-ranked batsman in ninth position while Sachin Tendulkar improved by three places to 11th spot, a place he which he shares with Symonds. Yuvraj Singh is in 17th spot after dropping one place.
Gautam Gambhir is the most improved batsman after rising 10 places to 26th position.
In the LG ICC Player Rankings for ODI bowlers, Sri Lanka ’s trio of Muttiah Muralidaran, Farveez Maharoof and Lasith Malinga lost ground. Muralidaran dropped two places to eighth place, Maharoof slipped one place to 10th spot and Malinga fell three places to 17th position.
New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori’s top position is under serious threat by second-placed Australia fast bowler Nathan Bracken who is just 12 points behind. A good performance in the final can help him claim the coveted spot.
Bracken’s team-mate Brett Lee has improved two places and now sits on fifth position while Mitchell Johnson is on 11th spot and could well break into the top 10 for the first time.
India has no bowler in the 10 top and Harbhajan Singh in 22nd position is the highest-ranked India bowler. Irfan Pathan is in 30th place after climbing five spots while Ishant Sharma is 110th after gaining 27 places.
Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik heads the LG ICC Player Rankings for all-rounders with South Africa ’s Jacques Kallis in second place, just three points behind.
Remaining matches:
2 March – 1st final, Sydney
4 March – 2nd final, Brisbane
7 March – 3rd final (if required), Adelaide
Sri Lanka’s consolation victory in tri-series keeps it ahead of England in sixth place LG ICC ODI Championship Table
Reigning champion Australia has been confirmed as the top seed for this September’s ICC Champions Trophy in Pakistan after the completion of the preliminary round matches of the tri-series in Melbourne on Friday.
The cut-off date for the determination of the seedings for the ICC Champions Trophy 2008 is 12 March. But with only the finals of the tri-series remaining, the LG ICC ODI Championship table can not be changed irrespective of how the best-of-three final pans out.
South Africa, winners of the inaugural tournament in 1998 in Bangladesh, will be seeded second followed by New Zealand, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, England and the West Indies in the eight-team tournament. The groupings will be announced on 12 March.
Sri Lanka avoided a slip in the LG ICC ODI Championship table, the yardstick to decide teams seedings, when it signed off with a 13-run victory over Australia . Had Australia won the game, Sri Lanka would have slipped to seventh position with England moving up to sixth place.
Australia and India will now go head-to-head in the best-of-three finals, aware of the fact that whatever the outcome, the championship table will not change.
However, if India wins the final in two matches Ricky Ponting’s side will drop to 127 ratings points, same as South Africa but ahead of Graeme Smith’s side when the points are calculated beyond the decimal point.
Likewise, India will also join New Zealand on 113 ratings points but will remain in fourth position when the points are calculated beyond the decimal point.
On the other hand, if Australia wins the tournament in two straight matches, it will go to 132 ratings points with India staying on 110 points. A 2-1 win for Australia would mean that the home team would finish on 130 points while India would return home on 111 ratings points.
In the latest LG ICC Player Rankings for ODI batsmen, no Sri Lanka batsman now figures in top 10 after Kumar Sangakkara dropped four places to 12th position. Captain Mahela Jayawardena is in 20th position.
Ponting leads the batsmen’s list with Adam Gilchrist breathing down his neck in second place after rising four places. Gilchrist, who retires after this series, is just 32 points behind and has a realistic chance of signing off on top of the list.
Besides Gilchrist, Matthew Hayden is the only other Australia batsman to make some progress while Michael Clarke, Mike Hussey and Andrew Symonds all slipped down the ladder. Hayden climbed one place to 11th position while Clarke slipped three places to fifth position, Hussey dropped two places to seventh spot and Symonds fell three positions to 14th spot.
For India , captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni is the highest-ranked batsman in ninth position while Sachin Tendulkar improved by three places to 11th spot, a place he which he shares with Symonds. Yuvraj Singh is in 17th spot after dropping one place.
Gautam Gambhir is the most improved batsman after rising 10 places to 26th position.
In the LG ICC Player Rankings for ODI bowlers, Sri Lanka ’s trio of Muttiah Muralidaran, Farveez Maharoof and Lasith Malinga lost ground. Muralidaran dropped two places to eighth place, Maharoof slipped one place to 10th spot and Malinga fell three places to 17th position.
New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori’s top position is under serious threat by second-placed Australia fast bowler Nathan Bracken who is just 12 points behind. A good performance in the final can help him claim the coveted spot.
Bracken’s team-mate Brett Lee has improved two places and now sits on fifth position while Mitchell Johnson is on 11th spot and could well break into the top 10 for the first time.
India has no bowler in the 10 top and Harbhajan Singh in 22nd position is the highest-ranked India bowler. Irfan Pathan is in 30th place after climbing five spots while Ishant Sharma is 110th after gaining 27 places.
Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik heads the LG ICC Player Rankings for all-rounders with South Africa ’s Jacques Kallis in second place, just three points behind.
Remaining matches:
2 March – 1st final, Sydney
4 March – 2nd final, Brisbane
7 March – 3rd final (if required), Adelaide
LG ICC ODI Championship (as of 1 March, ahead of tri-series final between Australia and India )
Rank Team Points
1 Australia 130
2 South Africa 127
3 New Zealand 113
4 India 111
5 Pakistan 109
6 Sri Lanka 107
7 England 105
8 West Indies 96
9 Bangladesh 47
10 Ireland 28
11 Zimbabwe 18
12 Kenya 0
LG ICC One-Day Rankings (as of 1 March, ahead of tri-series final between Australia and India )
Batsmen
Rank (+/-) Player Team Points Ave HS Rating
1 ( - ) Ricky Ponting Aus 792 43.74 832 v NZ at Hobart 2007
2 (+4) Adam Gilchrist Aus 760 36.12 820 v SL at Dambulla 2004
3 ( - ) Graeme Smith SA 753 39.80 784 v Ind at Kolkata 2005
4 ( - ) Mohd Yousuf Pak 752 43.07 777 v SA at Raw alp indi 2003
5 (-3) Michael Clarke Aus 736 44.81 756 v SL at Melbourne 2008
6 (+1) Kevin Pietersen Eng 735 48.18 834 v Aus at Antigua 2007
7= (+1) H.H.Gibbs SA 731 36.73 750 v SL at Durban 2003
(-2) Mike Hussey Aus 731 56.22 863 v NZ at Perth 2007
9 ( - ) MS Dhoni Ind 723 45.42 806 v WI at Kingston 2006
10 (+2) S.Chanderpaul WI 721 39.62 754 v SA at Durban 1999
11= (+1) Matthew Hayden Aus 719 43.44 854 v Ind at Centurion 2003
(+3) S.R.Tendulkar Ind 719 43.89 887 v Zim at Sharjah 1998
13 (-4) K.C.Sangakkara SL 716 36.03 760 v Ind at Rajkot 2007
14 (-3) Andrew Symonds Aus 715 39.74 778 v Ind at Nagpur 2007
15 ( - ) AB de Villiers SA 703 36.39 730 v NZ at Durban 2007
16 (+1) Jacques Kallis SA 698 45.21 816 v WI at Johannesburg 2004
17 (-1) Yuvraj Singh Ind 697 36.24 739 v WI at Port-of-Spain 2006
18 ( - ) R.R.Sarwan WI 692 44.55 798 v Ind at St Kitts 2006
19 ( - ) Chris Gayle WI 690 39.02 804 v Aus at Mumbai 2006
20 ( - ) M.Jayawardena SL 678 33.24 737 v WI at Colombo (RPS) 2001
Bowlers
Rank (+/-) Player Team Points Ave HS Rating
1 ( - ) Daniel Vettori NZ 790! 31.87 790 v Eng at Christchurch 2008
2 ( - ) Nathan Bracken Aus 778 21.84 806 v SL at St George's 2007
3 ( - ) Shane Bond NZ 736 19.32 811 v SA at St George's 2007
4 ( - ) Chaminda Vaas SL 699 27.26 861 v SA at Colombo (RPS) 2004
5 (+2) Brett Lee Aus 684 22.58 853 v SA at Melbourne 2006
6 (-1) Kyle Mills NZ 683 26.66 694 v Ban at Queenstown 2007
7 (+1) Daren Powell WI 673! 29.96 673 v SA at Johannesburg 2008
8 (-2) M.Muralidaran SL 668 23.00 913 v NZ at Sharjah 2002
9 ( - ) Jerome Taylor WI 660 27.17 688 v SA at Cape Town 2008
10 (-1) M.F.Maharoof SL 653 24.39 671 v Eng at Dambulla 2007
11 ( - ) M.G.Johnson Aus 651* 23.39 659 v SL at Melbourne 2008
12= ( - ) Brad Hogg Aus 645 26.77 687 v Ind at Nagpur 2007
(+1) Makhaya Ntini SA 645 24.12 782 v WI at Cape Town 2004
14= (+1) Andrew Flintoff Eng 634 25.10 755 v Ban at Dhaka 2003
(+1) Jacob Oram NZ 634 31.24 768 v Aus at The Oval 2004
16 (+1) Andre Nel SA 624 28.34 672 v Ind at Stormont 2007
17 (-3) Lasith Malinga SL 621 25.58 687 v Ban at Colombo (RPS) 2007
18 ( - ) Abdur Razzak Ban 616 23.95 711 v Eng at Bridgetown 2007
19 ( - ) Peter Ongondo Ken 610! 25.14 610 v Ber at Nairobi 2007
20 (+2) Shahid Afridi Pak 607 36.03 637 v SA at Faisalabad 2007
All-rounders
Rank (+/-) Player Team Points HS Rating
1 ( - ) Shoaib Malik Pak 347 402 v WI at Brisbane 2005
2 ( - ) Jacques Kallis SA 344 505 v WI at Bridgetown 2001
3 ( - ) Andrew Flintoff Eng 337 544 v SL at The Rose Bowl 2004
4= ( - ) Chris Gayle WI 335 511 v Zim at Harare 2003
( - ) Jacob Oram NZ 335 353 v Eng at Auckland 2008
-ICC MEDIA RELEASE