Australia sit comfortably atop the ICC World Test Championship standings after a dominant home summer came to a conclusion with series wins against West Indies and South Africa.

India are second with a home series coming up against Pat Cummins and Co. Sri Lanka are third with an away series against New Zealand left in the cycle.

South Africa batted out for a draw on the final day of the third Test on Sunday in Sydney to deny Australia a series sweep.

The Proteas were 105 for two in their second innings when Australia captain Pat Cummins settled for a draw with five overs left. Australia had begun the final day needing 14 wickets to pull off an improbable victory. Despite their batting struggling for pretty much the entire series, the Proteas managed a rearguard on the final day.

Advertisement

But for South Africa, it was a little bit of face-saving result in the end as they avoided a clean sweep but their percentage points slipped below 50% to 48.72%, and considering they started the series in second spot, it was a forgettable summer Down Under for Dean Elgar and Co. They have a home series left against the West Indies.

As the ICC put it, India and Sri Lanka were big winners from this series as they occupy the second and third places currently. Australia do have an away series in India but even a draw in one of the matches could potentially be enough to cement their place in the top two, should Sri Lanka slip in New Zealand. The draw in Sydney however saw their point-percentage drop to 75.56%.

The current cycle for ICC WTC runs from July 2021 to June 2023. The cycle started with the top nine Test teams, all of whom playing six series each over the course of the two years, three at home and three away. The top two teams will compete in the final. India and New Zealand competed in the first final with Kane Williamson and Co crowned inaugural world champions.

ICC WTC standings after AUS-SA series

TEAM PCT (%) PTS MATCHES: W-L-D SER PEN
AUSTRALIA 75.56 136 10-1-4 5 0
INDIA 58.93 99 8-4-2 5 -5
SRI LANKA 53.33 64 5-4-1 5 0
SOUTH AFRICA 48.72 76 6-6-1 5 0
ENGLAND 46.97 124 10-8-4 6 -12
WEST INDIES 40.91 54 4-5-2 5 -2
PAKISTAN 38.1 64 4-6-4 6 0
NEW ZEALAND 27.27 36 2-6-3 5 0
BANGLADESH 11.11 16 1-10-1 6 0
PCT (%): Percentage L: Number of matches lost SER: Number of series played PTS: Number of points awarded D: Number of matches drawn PEN: Number of penalty overs W: Number of matches won

Note that the eams will be ranked on percentage of points won. The final column in the table is for slow over-rates penalties, where teams will lose one championship point for each over short.

Reminder: Points

Points available per match Percentage of points*
Win 12 100
Tie 6 50
Draw 4 33.33
Loss 0 0

With inputs from ICC and AFP