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Australia are close to reclaiming the number one ranking in Test cricket. Given they are a flawed, rebuilding side laced with rookies it’s an indication that, at present, there are no commanding teams in the Test game.
Weather permitting, Australia are overwhelming favourites to beat the Windies in the ongoing SCG Test to notch a 3-0 series win.
Australia would then be within striking distance of nabbing the top ranking. To claim it, they would need two things to happen.
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First, they would require England to beat South Africa in their ongoing four-Test series, by any margin. Considering England are 1-0 up, are in an unloseable position in the second Test, and injuries have reduced South Africa’s bowling attack to a West Indies-like standard, the tourists are odds on to claim that series.
Second, Australia would need to win their upcoming two-Test series in New Zealand by any margin. Even a draw in that series, assuming England beat South Africa, could be enough to put Australia equal-first in the rankings with India.
Regardless of how the next two months of Test cricket pans out, one of Australia, India or South Africa will be in first place. Yet, right now, none of those three teams are anything closed to the finished article, with each having several major weaknesses.
The past year has been the first time in a long time that we haven’t had either a great or at least a really good Test team. Up until about the time of Graeme Smith’s retirement last year, South Africa had been a stellar Test team for more than six years.
Just before Smith retired, England’s Test team also had reached the end of an area, with stars Graeme Swann, Kevin Pietersen, Matt Prior and Jonathan Trott all out of the side for various reasons. England had been past their best for about 18 months at that point after a golden era from 2004 to 2012 during which they were a formidable unit.
In the mid-to-late-2000s, England, Australia and South Africa all boasted talent-rich sides which were considerably better than any of the current Test line-ups.
South Africa are the current number one team and potentially could remain in that spot even if they don’t beat England in their current series. Fresh from a humiliating 3-0 loss in India, the Proteas are a vulnerable, ageing side with major issues on and off the field.
Their most important player, paceman Dale Steyn, is out injured again and at rising 33 years old there is talk of a possible retirement in the near future. There also has been conjecture about the Test futures of other gun players AB de Villiers and Vernon Philander.
Even with all three of those players fit and on the field, South Africa still would be hampered by a shaky batting line-up. The current second-ranked side India have earned that lofty spot despite several years of utterly abysmal efforts away from home.
India have been so woeful outside of their own country that they make Australia look like a brilliant travelling team. They have won just three of their past 27 Tests away from home. To have a number one side in the world which is so impotent outside of their unique home conditions would be farcical.
Australia, meanwhile, had a fantastic run in Tests from the 2013-14 Ashes to the 2015 Ashes, during which they had an 11-3 win-loss record, and recorded remarkable series victories – 5-0 over England and 2-1 in South Africa.
Now, though, they are an extremely inexperienced side trying to rebuild after the loss of six players who had formed the backbone of the team during that successful period.
There is plenty to like about Australia’s young team. It has a potent attack despite the retirements of two of the elite bowlers in the game Ryan Harris and Mitchell Johnson.
Meanwhile, superstars Steve Smith and David Warner are surrounded by players who have made bright starts to their Test career in Adam Voges, Usman Khawaja and Joe Burns.
But their line-up is punctuated by players who are unproven in tough conditions. Plundering runs on home decks is one thing. Transferring that form to New Zealand and Sri Lanka, the venues for their next two tours, will be an entirely more difficult task.
Like South Africa and India, Australia are not anything close to the standard we typically associate with the number one Test team. The next three teams in the rankings – Pakistan, New Zealand and England – all have plenty of talent in their XIs.
Pakistan have been brilliant in their adopted home of the UAE and over the next 12 months face the real challenges of performing in Australia and England. New Zealand, meanwhile, are a vastly improved Test side but do not have a single big series win to their name in years.
England are the most hyped team in the Test game at the moment thanks to their barnstorming start to the series in South Africa. Yet England won only one of their four Test series last year and could not even beat the lowly West Indies in the Caribbean, just weeks before Australia absolutely destroyed the Windies.
For the rest of this year, the number one Test ranking looks likely to be passed around between a couple of teams. That will be somewhat fitting, as no side in the world is even close to deserving it at present.