Asia Cup victory puts Sri Lanka third as ODI ratings undergo annual update

Victory in the Asia Cup has lifted Sri Lanka to third place in the ICC One-Day International Championship as the official ratings undergo their annual update today.

With South Africa sliding down the table following disappointing results in last year's ICC Cricket World Cup and a heavy series defeat in New Zealand, Sri Lanka needed to win all of its matches in the Asia Cup to snatch second spot from the other form team, New Zealand.

But defeat in their final group match against India meant Sri Lanka had to settle for third spot in the official ODI table.

Sri Lanka will, however, have a chance to climb to second when it takes on South Africa at home over the coming weeks.

New Zealand's ascent to second place in the official ODI table caps a remarkable improvement since the start of the year during which it has climbed from eighth position following a combination of strong performances at home and its recent NatWest Series victory in England.

The update sees South Africa lose second spot in the official table for the first time since the ODI ratings were introduced in October 2002. It caps a disappointing 12 months for South Africa in which it also lost its grasp of second place in the ICC Test Championship.

The forthcoming tour to Sri Lanka provides an immediate opportunity for South Africa to bounce back in both forms of the game.

Australia remains top of the ICC ODI table, with its rating improving by one point as a result of the update. It continues to hold a comfortable 20-point cushion at the top of the table.

Despite losing to its neighbour in the group stage of the Asia Cup, India's march to the final has lifted it above Pakistan to fifth spot. England's recent poor form has resulted in it slipping below the West Indies to eighth place as its rating has dropped below 100 for the first time since July 2003. The ratings of Zimbabwe, Kenya and Bangladesh remain virtually unchanged as they continue to occupy the bottom three places.

The updated ICC ODI Championship table:

Analysis of the updated ICC ODI Championship table:

Note: If ratings are equal, the ratings calculation is refined to three decimal places to determine the higher ranked team.

All matches included within the ICC ODI ratings will always fall into one of three time periods.

- Period One covers the first year of matches
- Period Two covers the second year of matches
- Period Three covers the remaining more recent matches

Weightings are applied to these three groups of matches so that the ratings more fully reflect recent form.

The weightings are as follows:

- Period One matches have a weighting of one third
- Period Two matches have a weighting of two thirds
- Period Three matches have a weighting of one

So therefore matches played in the year to 1 August 2004 now have a weighting of two thirds, then from August 2005 they will have a weighting of just one third. Finally in August 2006, they will drop out of the ratings altogether.