da gbg bet： Zimbabwe have dropped out of the ICC Test Championship as a result of them only playing eight Tests in the last three years
Cricinfo staff16-Jul-2007Zimbabwe have dropped out of the ICC Test Championship as a result of them only playing eight Tests in the last three years. Test match rankings have historically been based on a minimum of 10 Tests played by each country over the three to four-year period.At the top of the table, Australia have stretched their lead and are now 26 rating points clear of second-placed England. Sri Lanka are another eight points further back having moved up two places to third position, and South Africa are also up two places from sixth spot to fourth. Pakistan are the big loser after the update having dropped three places from third to sixth.The annual update is carried out to ensure the LG ICC Test Championship table continues to reflect recent form with older results being discarded. As such, the new table only includes results from series completed after August 1, 2004.The update is always scheduled to take place on August 1 each year, but as no series are set to finish ahead of that date, it can be carried out now. By updating the table now it means that England and India will know what progress they can make before their series starts on Thursday.
Australia 253534 141 England 32 3671115 Sri Lanka 25 2673 107 South Africa 27 2759 102 India25 2547 102 Pakistan 262573 99 New Zealand 15 148199 West Indies 24 1717 72 Bangladesh 18 65 4