The International Cricket Council (ICC) maintains a global ranking system for the 12 teams who compete in Test cricket (though Afghanistan and Ireland are not currently ranked as they have not played enough matches recently).
ICC Men’s Test Cricket Team Ranking
Without taking into account home or away status, the rankings are based on international contests that would otherwise be played as part of the standard Test cricket schedule.
Last updated on October 20, 2022 (GMT).
| POS | TEAM | MATCHES | POINTS | RATING |
| 1 | Australia | 22 | 2,853 | 130 |
| 2 | India | 32 | 3,690 | 115 |
| 3 | England | 47 | 5,017 | 107 |
| 4 | South Africa | 25 | 2,606 | 104 |
| 5 | New Zealand | 27 | 2,704 | 100 |
| 6 | Pakistan | 27 | 2,323 | 86 |
| 7 | Sri Lanka | 23 | 1,916 | 83 |
| 8 | West Indies | 28 | 2,198 | 79 |
| 9 | Bangladesh | 25 | 1,161 | 46 |
| 10 | Zimbabwe | 6 | 148 | 25 |
Men’s Test Cricket Team Ranking System
- The two teams involved in each Test series are awarded points based on a mathematical formula that takes into account both teams’ prior ratings and the series’ outcome.
- The sum of each team’s points from games played over the previous three to four years is divided by a number depending on the total number of games and series they have played to produce a “rating.”
- In a match between two teams with different rankings, the lower-ranked team will win and the higher-ranked team will lose.
- A squad that plays a mix of stronger and weaker teams and is considered to be “average” will earn a rating of 100.
ICC World Test Championship
The top-ranked test team used to get the ICC Test Championship mace prior to the creation of the World Test Championship.
The mace was changed whenever a new team rose to the top of the rating list from 2002 to 2021. Each year, a monetary prize was awarded to the team who had the highest rating as of April 1.
In order to have a championship match for each of the three international cricket formats, the International Cricket Council (ICC) created the World Test Championship.
The first ICC World Test Championship began with the 2019 Ashes series and concluded in June 2021 with New Zealand winning the championship trophy after defeating India.
Who Invented ICC Team Rankings?
David Kendix created the MRF Tyres ICC Team Rankings, a grading system for men’s and women’s teams competing in Test, ODI, and T20I formats.