South Africa’s comprehensive clean sweep of its two-match series against New Zealand has lifted it to third position in the latest LG ICC Test championship table.
Graeme Smith’s side, which won Tests in Johannesburg (358 runs) and Centurion (an innings and 59 runs) collected four rating points for its efforts and that has been enough to lift it above both fourth-placed India and Sri Lanka, in fifth spot.
It also means South Africa is now just two rating points behind second-placed England, which begins its own three-Test series against Sri Lanka in Kandy on December 1st.
With its next Test action a home series against the West Indies — in eighth place in the listing — Smith’s line-up, full of confidence after winning the two matches against the Black Caps in a total of seven days, will feel it can make further progress up the table and start to claw back Australia’s sizeable advantage at the head of affairs.
Ricky Ponting’s side is currently 30 rating points ahead of England and that gap could grow to 32 points if Australia is able to close out its second Test with Sri Lanka in Hobart to complete its own 2-0 series win.
While the news is positive for South Africa, it is quite the opposite for New Zealand, which has tumbled down to seventh position in the Test Championship table after its two chastening defeats.
The Black Caps have lost eight rating points because of those defeats and that has been enough to drop Daniel Vettori’s side below Pakistan which, in turn, has risen to sixth place ahead of its three-match series against India, which begins in New Delhi on November 22. – Sapa