Administrator | International Cricket Council |
---|---|
Creation | 2003 (as ICC Test Championship) |
Number of teams | 12 |
Current top ranking | Australia (124 rating) |
Longest cumulative top ranking | Australia (109 months) |
Longest continuous top ranking | Australia (74 months) |
Highest rating | Australia (143 rating) |
Last updated on: 2 May 2024. |
The ICC Men's Test Team Rankings (formerly known as the ICC Test Championship) is an international rankings system of the International Cricket Council for the 12 teams that play Test cricket. The rankings are based on international matches that are otherwise played as part of regular Test cricket scheduling, with no consideration of home or away status.
After every Test series, the two teams involved receive points based on a mathematical formula involving both teams' previous rating and the result of the series. Each team's points total from matches over the last 3–4 years is divided by a figure based on their total number of matches and series played, to give a "rating".
A drawn match between higher and lower rated teams will benefit the lower-rated team at the expense of the higher-rated team. An "average" team that wins as often as it loses, while playing a mix of stronger and weaker teams, will have a rating of 100.
The top ranked Test team was previously awarded the ICC Test Championship mace, until the inauguration of ICC World Test Championship. From 2003 to 2019, the mace was transferred whenever a new team moved to the top of the rating list.[1] The team that was top of the ratings table on 1 April each year also won a cash prize.[2]
Australia is currently the highest-ranked team in the rankings, as of an update published in May 2024.[1]