Sri Lanka and West Indies aim to earn crucial points
With eight sides confirmed for the ICC Champions Trophy 2017, the race to the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 begins in Colombo on Sunday when Sri Lanka hosts the West Indies in a three-match series.
Sri Lanka currently sits in fifth position on 103 points, while the West Indies is ranked eighth on 88 points. Each One-Day International (ODI) played over the next 23 months will count as the top eight sides on the ICC ODI Team Rankings as on 30 September 2017 will progress to the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, while the bottom four sides, along with the top sides from the ICC World Cricket League Championship and the ICC World Cricket League, will head to the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2018 to fight out for the two remaining slots.
As such, all 12 sides on the ICC ODI Team Rankings will not only be aiming to play as many matches as possible but also to win most of the matches so that they can make the cut and secure direct qualification for the pinnacle 50-over tournament to be hosted by the England and Wales Cricket Board from 30 May to 15 July 2019.
In regards to the forthcoming series, Sri Lanka can collect a maximum of two points while five points will be up for grabs for the West Indies. However, they will only be able to pocket these points if they win all three matches of the series. Both sides will retain pre-series points if the home side wins the series 2-1, while a 2-1 result in favour of the visitors will mean they will move to 91 points and the hosts will slip to 102 points.
To find out exactly how the forthcoming series will affect the ODI rankings table, please click here. The ODI rankings table is updated after each match.
In the ICC Player Rankings for ODI Batsmen, Sri Lanka’s fourth-ranked Tillakaratne Dilshan and captain Angelo Mathews (20th) are the only batsmen who feature inside the top 20.
The West Indies has the next three batsmen with Marlon Samuels (37th), Darren Bravo (44th) and Andre Russell (49th) starring inside the top 50 and aiming for upward movements.
South Africa’s AB de Villiers is the number-one ranked batsman, followed by Virat Kohli of India and New Zealand’s Kane Williamson.
The West Indies’ second-ranked Sunil Narine is the highest-ranked bowler from either side. He will have Australia’s number-one ranked Mitchell Starc firmly within his sights as the Player of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 is just four points ahead of the off-spinner.
Sri Lanka boasts Sachithra Senanayake (17th) and Mathews (19th) inside the top 20.
West Indies captain Jason Holder (22nd) and Ravi Rampaul (23rd) are separated by just six points and have James Faulker firmly within their sights. The Australian left-arm fast bowler is sitting in 20th spot, just two points ahead of Holder.
Dilshan and Mathews will begin their battle for the slot of Sri Lanka’s highest-ranked all-rounder. Only four points separate second-ranked Dilshan from Mathews in the list, which is headed by Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan.
Series schedule:
1 Nov – 1st ODI, Colombo (d/n)
4 Nov – 2nd ODI, Colombo (d/n)
7 Nov – 3rd ODI, Pallekele (d/n)
ICC ODI RANKINGS (as on 29 October, before the start of Sri Lanka-West Indies series)
Rank Team Points
1 Australia 127
2 India 114
3 South Africa 112
4 New Zealand 109
5 Sri Lanka 103
6 England 100
7 Bangladesh 96
8 West Indies 88
9 Pakistan 88
10 Zimbabwe 46
11 Ireland 46
12 Afghanistan 45
(Developed by David Kendix)
ICC ODI Player Rankings (as on 29 October, before the start of Sri Lanka-West Indies series)
Batsmen (top 10)
Rank Player Team Points Avge Highest Ranking
1 AB de Villiers SA 900 54.21 902 v NZ at Auckland 2015
2 Virat Kohli Ind 804 50.60 886 v Ban at Fatullah 2014
3 Kane Williamson NZ 788 48.02 798 v SA at Centurion 2015
4 T. Dilshan SL 781 39.71 802 v Sco at Hobart 2015
5 Hashim Amla SA 776 52.70 901 v Eng at Trent Bridge 2012
6 MS Dhoni Ind 741 52.26 836 v Aus at Delhi 2009
7 Shikhar Dhawan Ind 730 42.93 794 v SA at Melbourne 2015
8 Ross Taylor NZ 728 43.91 743 v Zim at Harare 2015
9 Glenn Maxwell Aus 717 34.88 724 v Pak at Adelaide 2015
10= Faf du Plessis SA 715! 39.65 715 v Ind at Mumbai 2015
Quinton de Kock SA 715 39.86 749 v Aus at Sydney 2014
Selected rankings
Rank Player Team Points Avge Highest Ranking
20 Angelo Mathews SL 646 39.94 707 v Eng at Colombo (RPS) 2014
37 Marlon Samuels WI 571 33.31 631 v SL at St. Vincent 2003
44 Darren Bravo WI 547 32.64 588 v Ind at Kanpur 2013
49 Andre Russell WI 539 28.60 571 v NZ at St Kitts 2012
63 Kusal Perera SL 503! 25.48 503 v Pak at Hambantota 2015
68 Johnson Charles WI 496* 28.96 592 v Ind at Trinidad 2013
70 D. Chandimal SL 492 31.05 667 v Aus at Adelaide 2012
Bowlers (top 10)
Rank Player Team Points Avge Highest Ranking
1 Mitchell Starc Aus 713 19.65 4.85 783 v NZ at Melbourne 2015
2 Sunil Narine WI 709 26.49 4.10 791 v SL at Jamaica 2013
3 Trent Boult NZ 705* 24.08 4.64 738 v Eng at The Oval 2015
4 Shakib Al Hasan Ban 690 28.35 4.30 717 v Zim at Chittagong 2009
5 Imran Tahir SA 688 22.94 4.49 735 v SL at Sydney 2015
6 Dale Steyn SA 682 25.93 4.86 746 v Ind at Durban 2013
7 Mitchell Johnson Aus 672 25.26 4.83 724 v Ban at Darwin 2008
8 Morne Morkel SA 666 23.98 4.90 717 v SL at East London 2012
9 Saeed Ajmal Pak 655 22.73 4.18 810 v SA at Centurion 2013
10 R. Ashwin Ind 640 31.27 4.81 691 v SL at Hambantota 2012
Selected rankings
Rank Player Team Points Avge Highest Ranking
17 S. Senanayake SL 595 34.65 656 v NZ at Christchurch 2015
19 Angelo Mathews SL 581 35.01 649 v Ind at Trinidad 2013
22 Jason Holder WI 566* 31.93 576 v UAE at Napier 2015
23 Ravi Rampaul WI 560 29.22 628 v Ind at Ahmedabad 2011
33 Lasith Malinga SL 535 27.79 675 v Ban at Colombo (RPS) 2007
37 Jerome Taylor WI 523* 26.91 626 v NZ at Christchurch 2009
49 T. Dilshan SL 485 44.20 529 v NZ at Hamilton 2015
61 Andre Russell WI 473 32.00 500 v NZ at St Kitts 2012
66 Ajantha Mendis SL 465 21.17 648 v NZ at Colombo (RPS) 2011
All-rounders (top three)
Rank Player Team Points Highest Ranking
1 Shakib Al Hasan Ban 418 453 v Zim at Chittagong 2009
2 T. Dilshan SL 379 415 v Sco at Hobart 2015
3 Angelo Mathews SL 375 427 v Eng at Colombo (RPS) 2014
*indicates provisional rating; a batsman qualifies for a full rating after a minimum of 40 started innings; a bowler qualifies for a full rating after he has conceded 1,500 runs.
!indicates career-highest rating