Published: Feb 19, 2016, 05:41 PM (IST)
Edited: Feb 19, 2016, 05:41 PM (IST)
Since England toppled India in 2011 to become the world No. 1 side, there have been a few teams in contention for the top spot in ICC Test rankings for teams. England lost their position to South Africa the following, who trumped their hosts to clinch the No. 1 spot, winning the three-Test series 2-0. The South Africans stayed at the pinnacle for a while, until the rankings system saw Australia rising to the No. 1 position in May 2014. South Africa were again back to the top with their series win in Sri Lanka and Australia not playing any Test during their reign at the helm, their series defeat at home to England saw India becoming world No. 1.
India are likely to lose their position to Australia, who need a draw or a win against New Zealand in the final Test of the ongoing Trans-Tasman Trophy 2015-16. India’s case will be exactly like the one of Australia’s, who rose to the top spot following their Ashes 2013-14 clean sweep over England and an impressive series win in South Africa. And, somewhere in between, Pakistan came agonisingly close to No. 1 spot as they were at the second for a brief period of time, not long ago.
Certainly, too much for anyone to remember, especially when there are no records available for access.
But looking at how the No. 1 spot has been frequented by not one but at least three or four teams, what we do get is the clear picture of the lack of competitiveness in Test cricket. West Indies enjoyed domination close to two decades starting 1976, and Australia took over to better some of their records post 1995. Australia’s reign ended midway through the first decade of this century, and since then there have been equally-matched teams — with excellent home records and poor away performances — playing a cat-and-mouse game for the first position in Test cricket.
South Africa, for a long period of time, remained unbeaten as a touring side. They maintained an unbeaten record for more than nine years — a record as good as unbelievable keeping in mind the quality of cricket teams play usually overseas. But with a record of 5 defeats in 9 games and 4 draws, South Africa’s grip loosened on the first spot, which went to India after England, trumped them 2-0 in the recently-concluded series.
With plenty of short format cricket lined up — Asia Cup T20 2016, ICC World T20 2016 and IPL 2016 to go till May end — there is definitely no room for Test cricket. If at all Australia manage to draw or even win the Christchurch Test, they will enjoy a prolonged run at the top spot as there is not much Test cricket lined up for them. And if Australia lose, India will continue to remain the No. 1 side in Test cricket even if their stars continue to shine in back-to-back T20 competitions.
The No. 1 spot will either go to Australia or stay with India in days to come, but one thing that is for sure is the fact that this game of the throne will be on hold for a while.
(Devarchit Varma is senior writer with CricketCountry. He can be followed on Twitter @Devarchit)
