England remained on the top in Test Ranking – Cricket News Update
England have retained the top spot on the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/South-Africa-c757 which ended in a draw, on Sunday March 11, 2012, in Dunedin.
England has clinched the number one status in Test for the first time in the current ranking system since 2003. The team has topped the table with 118 points, with just one-point separating them from South Africa.
The victorious team will be presented a cheque of USD 175,000/- which is an annual prize to the side that tops the chart.
The English team has been holding the summit since stumbling http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 in July/August last year, following a convincing 4-0 series win. The victory helped the Poms into gaining a seven-point lead at the top.
In their quest of leading the charts, South Africa drew a home series against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 at UAE earlier
in the year, which gave their rivals a chance to knock them off their perch.
However, luck favoured the English contingent after South Africa had to settle for a draw against the Black Caps following the first Test. The Proteas needed to claim a clean sweep in the three-match series but with the fifth and decisive day of the opening
bout washed due to rain, the possibility of reaching to the top before the cut-off date seemed far off.
The probability though, remained high, following the team’s success in the limited-over versions, where they beat the Kiwis in both, T20 and ODI series. However, they remain favorites to seal the second position on the rankings, which will be worth USD 75000
– provided they don’t lose the on-going series.
The decisive contest however, will be played in July when the Proteas unit travels to England for a three-match Test series.
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