England pips India to become top ODI side

England leapfrogged India to gain the No.1 spot in the International Cricket Council's (ICC) One-Day International (ODI) rankings after the annual update which saw the “Men in blue” losing a point to be positioned at second in the latest rankings released here on Wednesday.

England, which last topped the ODI rankings in January 2013 has gained eight points and moved to 125 points after the performances in the 2014-15 season has been dropped from the latest calculations while those from the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons were weighted at 50 percent.

India, which was at the top before the update, has lost a solitary point to slip to No.2 with a total of 122 points. South Africa, which was second, has dropped down to third place after losing four points, from 117 to 113, leaving it nine points adrift of India and only one point ahead of fourth-placed New Zealand.

The remaining places remain unchanged, meaning that the current top 10 ranked sides are the ones who will be playing in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019. However, there have been some significant changes in points.

World champion Australia has lost eight points to go down to 104 in fifth position and is only two points ahead of ICC Champions Trophy 2017 winners Pakistan, who have gained six points. In other changes, Bangladesh (93 points) has gained three points, Sri Lanka (77) has lost seven points, the West Indies (69) has lost five points, Afghanistan (63) has gained five points, Zimbabwe (55) has gained four points and 12th-placed Ireland (38) has lost three points.

Meanwhile, in the ICC T20I rankings led by Pakistan, there is no change in the top seven places but Afghanistan is now ahead of Sri Lanka in the eighth slot. Pakistan (130) and Australia (126) remain in the top two positions without a change in their points total while India has gained two points to reach 123. New Zealand (116) is unchanged on points while England (115) has gained a solitary point.