Second place up for grabs in ODI ratings

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SOURCE:
Second place up for grabs in ODI table
The scramble for second place in the ICC’s ODI ratings begins again this week with the start of Pakistan’s five-match series against South Africa.

A 5-0 win for Pakistan would lift the team about South Africa to second in the world ratings, with England dropping one place to fourth.

A series whitewash would see Pakistan’s rating climb to 114 while South Africa’s would fall to 110. Pakistan is currently fourth in the table with a rating of 107 and even a 3-2 or 4-1 series victory on home soil against South Africa will lift it above England to third in the standings.

Success for South Africa in the rescheduled tour will help it edge closer to leaders Australia, but even if it wins all of its matches its rating will only increase from 118 to 123 – still 12 behind the runaway leaders.

A convincing South Africa series win would reduce Pakistan's rating and its position in the table. With only three points currently separating the ratings of the middle six sides in the standings, a 4-1 away win would see Pakistan fall to seventh in the table, while a 5-0 thrashing would push them down to eighth behind all teams except Zimbabwe, Kenya and Bangladesh.

This will be the first series to use the Professional Edition of the Duckworth/Lewis method of target resetting

SA as usual always working hard for their climb up the rankings.