Race for ODI top spot heats up for ICC Cricket World Cup contenders

Friday’s opening clash at the SCG will see Australia host England with Michael Clarke’s men keen to edge a point clear of MS Dhoni’s side at the top of the ODI team rankings. It will be a dress rehearsal for the eagerly anticipated ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 opening match, which will see the same sides play each other in exactly 30 days’ time in Melbourne.

Following its 5-0 home series victory over Sri Lanka in November, reigning champion India will be bidding to gain further momentum and become only the third side in ICC Cricket World Cup history to successfully defend its title (after West Indies in 1975 and 1979 and Australia, who won the coveted prize three times in succession between 1999 and 2007).

Meanwhile, South Africa, bidding to lift the 50-over title for the first time after reaching the semi-finals when Australia and New Zealand last hosted the ICC Cricket World Cup back in 1992, welcomes West Indies to Durban on Friday in the first of a five-match ODI series, with two of the world’s top three batsmen in the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for ODI Batsmen set to feature.

Proteas captain AB de Villiers is in pole position in the batting rankings on 887 points and the 30-year-old Pretorian holds a 25-point advantage over second placed India batsman Virat Kohli, with Hashim Amla one place further back in third spot.

There are several permutations that could emerge over the coming weeks as New Zealand and Sri Lanka are also battling it out in their seven-match series, with the Black Caps currently holding a 1-0 lead after its three-wicket victory in the first ODI on Sunday.

After this series, New Zealand will complete its ICC Cricket World Cup preparations when it plays host to Pakistan – who lifted the CWC trophy back in 1992 - in two ODI’s ahead of its opening game of the tournament in Christchurch against Sri Lanka, also on 14 February.

To find out exactly how the forthcoming series will affect the rankings table, please click here. The ODI and T20I rankings tables, unlike the Test ranking table, is updated after each match.

Forthcoming fixtures:

Tri-Series:
Friday, 16 Jan – Australia v England, Sydney (d/n)
Sunday, 18 Jan -  Australia v India, Melbourne (d/n)
Tuesday, 20 Jan – England v India, Brisbane (d/n)
Friday, 23 Jan –Australia v England, Hobart (d/n)
Monday, 26 Jan – Australia v India, Sydney (d/n)
Friday, 30 Jan – England v India, Perth (d/n)
Sunday, 1 Feb – Final, Perth (d/n)

South Africa v West Indies
16 Jan – First ODI, Durban (d/n)
18 Jan – Second ODI, Johannesburg
21 Jan – Third ODI, East London (d/n)
25 Jan – Fourth ODI, Port Elizabeth
28 Jan – Fifth ODI, Centurion (d/n)

New Zealand v Sri Lanka

15 Jan – Second ODI, Hamilton (d/n)
17 Jan – Third ODI, Auckland (d/n)
20 Jan – Fourth ODI, Nelson
23 Jan – Fifth ODI, Dunedin
25 Jan – Sixth ODI, Dunedin
29 Jan – Seventh ODI, Wellington (d/n)

Reliance ICC ODI Team Rankings (as on 14 January, ahead of Australia, England and India tri-Series, South Africa-West Indies and after first ODI between New Zealand-Sri Lanka)

1          Australia         117   

2          India               117

3          South Africa   112    

4          Sri Lanka        109   

5          England          104    

6          New Zealand   99    

7          Pakistan           97      

8          West Indies     96      

9          Bangladesh     75      

10        Zimbabwe       53      

11        Ireland             39      

12        Afghanistan    38   

(Developed by David Kendix)

Reliance ICC ODI Player Rankings (as on 14 January, ahead of Australia, England and India tri-Series, South Africa-West Indies and after first ODI between New Zealand-Sri Lanka)

Batsmen

Rank     Player                  Team     Points       Ave        HS Rating

   1           AB de Villiers        SA           887        51.50     891 v Aus at Melbourne 2014

   2           Virat Kohli            Ind          862        52.61     886 v Ban at Fatullah 2014

   3           Hashim Amla       SA           828        53.18     901 v Eng at Trent Bridge 2012

   4           K. Sangakkara     SL           801        40.53     853 v Afg at Mirpur 2014

   5           Shikhar Dhawan  Ind          777        45.46     785 v SL at Hyderabad 2014

   6           George Bailey       Aus         771        44.20     867 v SA at Harare 2014

   7           Quinton de Kock SA           749*!    43.58     749 v Aus at Sydney 2014

   8=        MS Dhoni              Ind          738        52.85     836 v Aus at Delhi 2009

                T. Dilshan              SL           738        38.23     767 v Pak at Sharjah 2013

  10         K. Williamson       NZ          734        42.91     746 v Pak at Abu Dhabi 2014

  11         Ross Taylor          NZ          718        41.26     722 v Pak at Abu Dhabi 2014

  12         Joe Root                Eng         688!       41.61     688 v SL at Colombo (RPS) 2014

  13         Angelo Mathews  SL           680        40.32     707 v Eng at Colombo (RPS) 2014

  14         Misbah-ul-Haq    Pak         658        42.83     744 v SL at Fatullah 2014

  15         F. du Plessis           SA           657        34.40     703 v NZ at Bay Oval 2014

  16=       Rohit Sharma       Ind          651        37.89     672 v WI at Kochi 2013

                Aaron Finch          Aus         651*!    37.25     651 v SA at Sydney 2014

  18         Ahmed Shehzad  Pak         649        34.81     670 v Ban at Mirpur 2014

  19         Shane Watson      Aus         648        40.75     773 v SL at Hambantota 2011

  20         Suresh Raina        Ind          639        35.82     669 v Eng at Dharamsala 2013

Bowlers

Rank      Player                 Team     Points       Ave                         HS Rating

   1           Sunil Narine          WI          753        26.49     4.10       791 v SL at Jamaica 2013

   2           Saeed Ajmal         Pak         751        22.18     4.13       810 v SA at Centurion 2013

   3           Dale Steyn            SA           699        25.65     4.83       746 v Ind at Durban 2013

   4=        Shakib Al Hasan Ban        680        27.92     4.26       717 v Zim at Chittagong 2009

                M. Johnson           Aus         680        25.72     4.82       724 v Ban at Darwin 2008

   6           James Anderson  Eng         666        29.10     4.94       719 v SA at The Oval 2013

   7           S. Senanayake     SL           656!       32.00     4.56       656 v NZ at Christchurch 2015

   8           B. Kumar              Ind          641        36.59     4.60       657 v WI at Dharamsala 2014

   9           Ravindra Jadeja  Ind          638        32.29     4.79       738 v Zim at Bulawayo 2013

  10         M. Hafeez             Pak         634        35.01     4.06       769 v Ind at Kolkata 2013

  11         Morne Morkel      SA           632        24.27     4.94       717 v SL at East London 2012

  12         James Tredwell    Eng         629        27.81     4.77       646 v SL at Pallekele 2014

  13         Clint McKay         Aus         624        24.37     4.78       709 v Eng at Cardiff 2013

  14=       Rangana Herath  SL           617        31.13     4.42       703 v SA at Pallekele 2013

                R. Ashwin              Ind          617        32.46     4.89       691 v SL at Hambantota 2012

  16         M. Irfan                 Pak         616        29.51     4.85       621 v NZ at Abu Dhabi 2014

  17         L. Tsotsobe           SA           613        24.96     4.75       743 v NZ at Auckland 2012

  18         Shahid Afridi        Pak         611        33.89     4.62       673 v Ban at Mirpur 2011

19          M. Shami              Ind          609        26.08     5.74       636 v WI at Delhi 2014

  20         Kemar Roach       WI          608        26.85     4.90       650 v Pak at St Lucia 2013

All-rounders

Rank     Player                  Team     Points    HS Rating

   1           Shakib Al Hasan Ban        403        453 v Zim at Chittagong 2009

   2           M. Hafeez             Pak         397        438 v Ind at Kolkata 2013

   3           Angelo Mathews  SL           395        427 v Eng at Colombo (RPS) 2014

   4           T. Dilshan              SL           390!       390 v NZ at Christchurch 2015

   5           Shahid Afridi        Pak         340        383 v Ban at Mirpur 2011