Sri Lanka and West Indies aim to earn crucial points

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.
 
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
 
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