THE honour remains obscure, but Australia have won another world title -- the ICC Test championship and the £90,000 prize that goes with it. South Africa took the one-day version, the ICC Shield, and the same money.
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Australia retained the ICC Mace for a fourth year in a row, finishing the 12-month period up to March 31 clear of second-placed India. They had to be content with second in the one-day format when South Africa edged out Ricky Ponting’s side by a fraction of a rating point to top the ODI table, winning 21 and losing eight during the same 12-month period. The Australians pocketed an additional £40,000 in runners-up prize money. India collected £40,000 for second place in the Test table.
ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed congratulated the teams on their successes during an awards ceremony in Bombay today. He said: "Australia deserves praise for once again being the most consistent team in Test cricket. The success of Ricky Ponting’s side represents a benchmark for all teams at Test level and that is reflected in its standing in the ICC Test Championship table.
"Now, with the retirement of several high-profile players, it will face a challenge to its long-held top spot and it will be fascinating to see how all teams deal with that situation in the months to come."
ICC TEST STANDINGS
2004/05: 1 Australia, 2 South Africa
2005/06: 1 Australia, 2 England
2006/07: 1 Australia, 2 England
2007/08: 1 Australia, 2 South Africa
ICC ODI CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
2003-04: 1 Australia, 2 South Africa
2004-05: 1 Australia, 2 Sri Lanka
2005-06: 1 Australia, 2 South Africa
2006-07: 1 South Africa, 2 Australia
2007-08: 1 South Africa, 2 Australia
ICC Test Championship (to March 31, last year’s rankings and ratings in brackets)
Rank Teams Rating
1 (1) Australia 141 (135)
2 (4) India 111 (107)
3 (5) Sri Lanka 109 (102)
4 (6) South Africa 109 (102)
5 (2) England 107 (114)
6 (3) Pakistan 94 (108)
7 (7) New Zealand 93 (93)
8 (8) West Indies 73 (92)
9 (9) Bangladesh 1 (2)
Zimbabwe have a rating of 12 but have not played sufficient number of Test matches over the new rating period to be included on the main table.
ICC ODI Championship (as of 31 March; as of 31 March; last year’s rankings and ratings in brackets)
Rank Team Rating
1 (1) South Africa 127 (127)
2 (2) Australia 127 (127)
3 (3) New Zealand 113 (115)
4 (6) India 113 (106)
5 (4) Pakistan 109 (110)
6 (5) Sri Lanka 107 (108)
7 (7) England 105 (105)
8 (8) West Indies 96 (102)
9 (9) Bangladesh 46 (44)
10 Ireland 28
11 (10)Zimbabwe 18 (22)
12 (11)Kenya 0 (0)
NB: Ireland entered the main table after defeating two Full Members in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007.
(Developed by David Kendix)
www.icc-cricket.yahoo.com/rankings/rankings.html
