Test Cricket Ratings 27th January 2025

The West Indies have had a rather barren time of things lately; but have just drawn a series in Pakistan, winning the 2nd test of their series having lost the first. The effect on my ratings is to bring to two teams somewhat closer together than they were:

1. Australia     271
2. South Africa  197
3. England       171
4. India         167
5. New Zealand   148 
6. Sri Lanka      73
   
7. Pakistan       12 -33 
8. West Indies   -18 +33  
   
9. Bangladesh    -81  
   
10. Ireland      -300   
11. Afghanistan  -306        
    
12. Zimbabwe     -333

The official rankings now look like this:

1. Australia     126   
   
2. South Africa  114  +2
3. India         109  -2 
   
4. England       105  -1
   
5. New Zealand    97  +1  
6. Sri Lanka      87  
7. Pakistan       80  -3
8. West Indies    76  -1   
9. Bangladesh     65        
10. Ireland        26  
11. Afghanistan    19 +19
    
12. Zimbabwe        0  -4
    

This table has clearly incorporated Afghanistan's recent win in Zimbabwe, but one of the reasons I prefer my system is that team's ratings do not change when they haven't been playing. However, the pecking order is almost identical in both lists, only the relative positions of England and India now being in dispute.

In two days time, Australia begin the first of two tests to be played in Sri Lanka.