Amla, de Villiers and Kohli resume battle for the number-one batting position

On Saturday, Hambantota will host the first of three matches between Sri Lanka and Pakistan, while in Harare on Monday, the tri-series between Australia, South Africa and Zimbabwe gets underway with the opening match between the host and Australia. Also on Monday, Bristol will stage the first ODI of the five-match series between England and India.

In the meantime, eighth-ranked West Indies is already involved in its series against ninth-ranked Bangladesh, and leads the three-match series 1-0. This series concludes on Monday.

There is a lot to play for in the 17 matches scheduled over the next 16 days. Not only are the six top sides separated by just 15 ratings points, but the captains and the coaches will have their sights firmly set on the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, which kicks off in Christchurch and Melbourne on 14 February.

Furthermore, these matches will provide excellent opportunities to younger players to impress the selectors with their mettle and prowess, and strengthen their claims for places in sides for ICC’s pinnacle ODI event.

There is further context to these matches as Pakistan and India will be hoping to avenge their defeat in their respective Test series. Sri Lanka won both its matches against Pakistan while England came from behind to wrap up the series against India 3-1. While doing so, both England and Sri Lanka moved ahead of their respective opponents in the Reliance ICC Test Team Championship table.

In Harare, Australia and South Africa will do battle for the number-one position in the Reliance ICC ODI Team Rankings, with Michael Clarke’s men sitting on top of the tree, and South Africa just three ratings points behind. The two teams are also at loggerheads for the number-one position in the Reliance ICC Test Team Championship, with South Africa ahead by just one ratings point.

To find out exactly how forthcoming series will affect the Rankings Table, please click here. The ODI and T20I Rankings tables, unlike the Test Rankings Table, are updated after every match.

There are battles within battles when the Reliance ICC ODI Player Rankings are taken into account.

South Africa captain Hashim Amla has regained the number-one batting spot from team-mate AB de Villiers in the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for ODI Batsmen, following his scores of 122 not out and 15 against Zimbabwe. But his lead over de Villiers is just one ratings point, with India’s Virat Kohli another point behind in third spot.

With three points separating the top three batsmen, any batsman producing strong performances in the forthcoming matches could finish on top of the table. If the trio fails and fourth-ranked George Bailey of Australia gets a few big scores, then the tide could potentially sway in favour of the former Australia U19 captain, who can surge to the top of the charts for the first time in his career.

As many as nine batsmen inside the top 10 will feature in the forthcoming matches. Apart from Amla, India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq also feature inside the top 10 in sixth and ninth positions, respectively. England captain Alastair Cook is in 20th position and Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews is 22nd.

In the ICC Players Rankings for ODI Bowlers, Pakistan’s Saeed Ajmal holds the number-one position. He leads West Indies’ Sunil Narine by 71 ratings points, with England’s James Anderson hoping to continue with his rich form with the ball and leapfrog the West Indies spinner, whom he trails by 12 ratings points.

The Reliance ICC Player Rankings for ODI All-rounders is headed by Pakistan’s Mohammad Hafeez, with the top five also including Angelo Mathews in third place and Ravindra Jadeja of India in fourth.

Forthcoming series:

West Indies v Bangladesh (remaining matches)

22 August – Second ODI, Grenada

25 August – Third ODI, Basseterre

Sri Lanka v Pakistan

23 August – First ODI, Hambantota

27 August – Second ODI, Colombo

30 August – Third ODI, Dambulla

Tri-series in Zimbabwe

25 August – Zimbabwe v Australia, Harare

27 August – Australia v South Africa, Harare

29 August – Zimbabwe v South Africa, Harare

31 August – Zimbabwe v Australia, Harare

2 September – Australia v South Africa, Harare

4 September – Zimbabwe v South Africa, Harare

6 September - Final

England v India

25 August – First ODI, Bristol

27 August – Second ODI, Cardiff

30 August – Third ODI, Nottingham

2 September – Fourth ODI, Birmingham

5 September – Fifth ODI, Leeds

Reliance ICC ODI Team Rankings (as on 22 August, after the first ODI between West Indies and Bangladesh, and Zimbabwe-South Africa series)

Rank   Team              Rating    

1          Australia          115

2          India                112

3          South Africa   111

4          Sri Lanka         111

5          England           109

6          Pakistan           100

7          New Zealand  98

8          West Indies     94

9          Bangladesh     71

10        Zimbabwe       56

11        Afghanistan    42

12        Ireland             33

(Developed by David Kendix)

Reliance ICC ODI Player Rankings (as on 22 August, after the first ODI between West Indies and Bangladesh, and Zimbabwe-South Africa series)

Batsmen

Rank      (+/-)        Player                   Team     Pts          Ave         HS Rating

   1           (+1)         Hashim Amla       SA           870         55.61     901 v Eng at Trent Bridge 2012

   2           (-1)          AB de Villiers        SA           869         49.36     885 v SL at Hambantota 2014

   3           (-1)          Virat Kohli            Ind          868         52.16     886 v Ban at Fatullah 2014

   4           ( - )          George Bailey       Aus         856*!    53.12     856 v Eng at Adelaide 2014

   5           ( - )          K. Sangakkara     SL           823         40.39     853 v Afg at Mirpur 2014

   6           ( - )          MS Dhoni              Ind          771         53.28     836 v Aus at Delhi 2009

   7           ( - )          T. Dilshan              SL           750         38.02     767 v Pak at Sharjah 2013

   8           (+3)         Quinton de Kock SA           730*!    49.31     730 v Zim at Bulawayo 2014

   9           (-1)          Misbah-ul-Haq    Pak         715         44.38     744 v SL at Fatullah 2014

  10         (-1)          Ross Taylor          NZ          713!       40.07     713 v Ind at Wellington 2014

  11         (-1)          Shikhar Dhawan  Ind          712*      41.77     736 v WI at Kanpur 2013

  12         ( - )          Kane Williamson NZ          688!       39.51     688 v Ind at Wellington 2014

  13         ( - )          Shane Watson      Aus         676         41.06     773 v SL at Hambantota 2011

  14         ( - )          Michael Clarke    Aus         660         44.66     750 v SL at Melbourne 2008

  15=       ( - )          M. Hafeez             Pak         654         31.05     665 v Ban at Mirpur 2014

                ( - )          Ahmed Shehzad  Pak         654         34.40     670 v Ban at Mirpur 2014

  17         ( - )          Umar Akmal        Pak         652         38.57     702 v Afg at Sharjah 2012

  18         ( - )          Eoin Morgan        Ire/Eng   639         39.02     690 v Aus at The Oval 2010

  19         ( - )          Martin Guptill       NZ          635         39.16     684 v Zim at Napier 2012

  20         ( - )          Alastair Cook       Eng         625         38.03     752 v Aus at Lord's 2012

Bowlers

Rank      (+/-)        Player                   Team     Pts          Avge      Econ      HS Rating

   1           ( - )          Saeed Ajmal         Pak         789         22.25     4.14       810 v SA at Centurion 2013

   2           ( - )          Sunil Narine          WI          718         27.39     4.16       791 v SL at Jamaica 2013

   3           ( - )          James Anderson  Eng         706         28.69     4.94       719 v SA at The Oval 2013

   4           ( - )          Dale Steyn            SA           693         25.98     4.83       746 v Ind at Durban 2013

   5=        ( - )          Clint McKay         Aus         666         24.37     4.78       709 v Eng at Cardiff 2013

                ( - )          Ravindra Jadeja  Ind          666         32.58     4.71       738 v Zim at Bulawayo 2013

   7           (+3)         Ryan McLaren    SA           663         25.47     5.05       681 v Zim at Bulawayo 2014

   8           (-1)          L. Tsotsobe           SA           654         24.96     4.75       743 v NZ at Auckland 2012

   9           (-1)          Morne Morkel      SA           646         23.75     4.83       717 v SL at East London 2012

  10         (-1)          Mitchell Johnson Aus         639         25.88     4.85       724 v Ban at Darwin 2008

  11         (-1)          M. Hafeez             Pak         637         35.60     4.06       769 v Ind at Kolkata 2013

  12         ( - )          Kyle Mills              NZ          633         26.74     4.72       722 v Aus at Melbourne 2009

  13         ( - )          James Tredwell    Eng         627*!    24.98     4.76       627 v SL at Edgbaston 2014

  14         ( - )          S. Senanayake     SL           625*      34.82     4.62       629 v SA at Colombo (RPS) 2014

  15         ( - )          Rangana Herath  SL           623         32.46     4.36       703 v SA at Pallekele 2013

  16         ( - )          Junaid Khan         Pak         613         24.37     4.99       655 v SL at Abu Dhabi 2013

  17         ( - )          Shakib Al Hasan Ban        608         28.92     4.30       717 v Zim at Chittagong 2009

  18=       ( - )          Tim Southee         NZ          607         31.52     5.20       633 v Eng at Lord's 2013

                ( - )          R. Ashwin              Ind          607         32.91     4.90       691 v SL at Hambantota 2012

  20         (-2)          Kemar Roach       WI          601         27.28     4.92       650 v Pak at St Lucia 2013

All-rounders

Rank      (+/-)        Player                   Team     Pts          HS Rating

   1           ( - )          M. Hafeez             Pak         417        438 v Ind at Kolkata 2013

   2           ( - )          Shakib Al Hasan Ban        368        453 v Zim at Chittagong 2009

   3           ( - )          Angelo Mathews  SL           365        373 v Pak at Mirpur 2014

   4           ( - )          Ravindra Jadeja  Ind          348        378 v Eng at Edgbaston 2013

   5           ( - )          Shane Watson      Aus         336        433 v WI at St Lucia 2012