England eyes improvement in test rankings

July 4 (CRICKETNMORE) - On a head to head, England will start the series as the favourite as it enjoys a 58-32 advantage over South Africa with 55 Tests ending in draws

Fourth-ranked England will aim to improve its position on the ICC Test Team Rankings when it takes on second-ranked South Africa in a four-Test series starting at Lord’s on Thursday, 6 July.

England is presently sitting on 99 points as compared to South Africa’s 117 points. To move ahead of Australia in third place, England will need to win the series by 1-0 or better, while a 4-0 win will put it in second place on 108 points – 15 points behind number-one ranked India.

In contrast, South Africa, which presently trails India by six points, can narrow the gap with India to just one point but to make it happen, it will have to win all the four Tests. On the other side of the coin, if the Proteas side loses all four Tests, then it will drop to third on 106 points.

On a head to head, England will start the series as the favourite as it enjoys a 58-32 advantage over South Africa with 55 Tests ending in draws. In England, the two sides have played 64 Tests, out of which England has won 27 and South Africa 13, with 24 Tests ending in draws. That said, South Africa enjoys a 6-3 advantage over England in England this decade with three matches ending in draws.

ICC Test Team Rankings (as on 5 July, before the start of England v South Africa Test series):

Tendulkar, Kohli and Warne in James Taylor's All Time XI

ICC Test Team Rankings (as on 5 July, before the start of England v South Africa Test series):

Rank    Team               Points

1          India                 123

2          South Africa       117

3          Australia            100

4          England              99

5          New Zealand       97

6          Pakistan             93

7          Sri Lanka            91

8          West Indies        75

9          Bangladesh         69

10        Zimbabwe           00

ICC Media Release