India have been pretty unbeatable in world cricket recently. They lost when they last toured England; since then it's been plain sailing, all around the world. Prior to their current tour of New Zealand they'd won 7 matches on the trot; 8 games in a 9 game unbeaten run; and had even emerged victorious, for the first time ever, on a tour of Australia. But their latest tour has punctured this bubble, with the home side winning both tests by a big margin. My cricket world ratings are quite sensitive to this sort of thing; and, with Australia in good form recently, they take over at the top of the pile:
Australia 220
India 212 -22
England 195
New Zealand 175 +22
Sri Lanka 84
Pakistan 83
South Africa 59
West Indies -13
Bangladesh -122
Zimbabwe -251
Afghanistan -303
Ireland -339
The official ratings are generally less volatile, and India are still on top, but New Zealand have bounced up to second here whereas in my list they're further back in fourth. But both lists (albeit with different scales) agree at least on the top four teams, and that they are relatively clear of the chasing pack:
India 116 -4
New Zealand 110 +5
Australia 108
England 105
South Africa 98
Sri Lanka 91
Pakistan 85
West Indies 81
Bangladesh 61
Afghanistan 49
Zimbabwe 17
Ireland 0
The next test cricket sees England in Sri Lanka before the end of the month.
