England have won the 50 over World Cup this summer; but in spite of home advantage, they have failed to retake the Ashes, the prize awarded to the winners of the series they play against Australia. That trophy is retained by its holders, not shared, in the event of a drawn series; and Australia, who won the last time the two teams played, are now one-up with one to play. England pulled off a freakish comeback win in the 3rd test, and came unexpectedly close to securing a draw in the 4th to keep their hopes alive. But Australia, led from the front by their brilliant captain Steve Smith, have looked the stronger side throughout and now cannot be defeated in the series.
Meanwhile, Afghanistan lost every game they played in the Word Cup; but have just pulled off a notable away win, against Bangladesh, a very surprising result. My cricket world ratings now look like this:
India 227
Australia 178 +27
New Zealand 160
South Africa 140
England 131 -28
Sri Lanka 113
Pakistan 80
West Indies -22
Bangladesh -122 -39
Zimbabwe -252
Afghanistan -295 +39
Ireland -339
The official ratings, incorporating both the Banglades-Afghanistan result, and also India's recent victory in the West Indies since I last updated these, now look as follows:
India 115 +2
New Zealand 109
South Africa 108
England 105
Australia 98
Sri Lanka 95
Pakistan 84
West Indies 80 -2
Bangladesh 61 -4
Afghanistan 55 +30
Zimbabwe 16
Ireland 0
The final Ashes test stars this week.
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