Pakistan will be aiming to carry the recent Test momentum into the four-match One-Day International (ODI) series against England as it bids to gain crucial points on the ICC ODI Team Rankings.
Eighth-ranked Pakistan is currently sitting on 88 points as compared to sixth-ranked England’s 100 points. With England, plus seven other top-ranked sides as on 30 September 2017, set to qualify directly for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, the only way Pakistan can move up the order is by winning matches against the higher-ranked sides.
As such, a 4-0 series win against England will earn Pakistan five points, while a 3-1 victory will mean a gain of three rankings points. It will earn only one point if the series ends in a two-all draw.
An England series win will mean Pakistan will lose points. If England sweeps the series, like it did in 2012, then Pakistan will drop to 86 points, while it will concede one point if England wins 3-1.
As far as England is concerned, it can rise to as high as102 points, but will slip behind Bangladesh in seventh place by a fraction of a point, if it loses 4-0 and Bangladesh wins the third ODI against Zimbabwe on Monday.
Pakistan’s last series win against England was on home turf in December 2005 when it won 3-2.
The series permutations are:
Pakistan 4 England 0 – Pakistan 93 points England 95 points
Pakistan 3 England 1 – Pakistan 91 points England 96 points
Pakistan 2 England 2 – Pakistan 89 points England 99 points
Pakistan 1 England 3 – Pakistan 87 points England 101 points
Pakistan 0 England 4 – Pakistan 86 points England 102 points
In the ICC ODI Player Rankings, no batsman from either side features in the top 10. Joe Root is the highest-ranked batsman in 11th position, followed by captain Eoin Morgan (21st) and wicketkeeper Jos Buttler (23rd).
Pakistan’s Mohammad Hafeez is 30th, while Ahmed Shehzad is 32nd.
AB de Villiers of South Africa is the number-one ranked batsman, while Virat Kohli of India is second and Kane Williamson of New Zealand third.
In the bowling chart, Pakistan’s Mohammad Irfan, in 14th place, is the highest-ranked bowler from either side, followed by Moeen Ali of England (31st) and Wahab Riaz (49th).
Sunil Narine of the West Indies is the top-ranked bowler and he is followed by Mitchell Starc of Australia and Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan.
Meanwhile, the recently-concluded series between Sri Lanka and West Indies has resulted in gains for a number of players.
In the batting table, Marlon Samuels has moved up three places to 34th and Kusal Perera has climbed seven places to 43rd, while in the bowling, Suranga Lakmal has achieved a career-best ranking of 23rd after rising six places and Lasith Malinga has vaulted four places to 24th.
The 3-0 series win as earned Sri Lanka five points and it is now on 105 points, while the West Indies has slipped to 86 after dropping two points.
Series schedule
Pakistan v England (all day/night matches)
11 November – 1st ODI, Abu Dhabi
13 November – 2nd ODI, Abu Dhabi
17 November – 3rd ODI, Sharjah
20 November – 4th ODI, Dubai
ICC ODI Team Rankings (as on 9 November, after SL-WI series, before BD-Zim third ODI and before the start of Pak-Eng series)
Rank Team Points
1 Australia 127
2 India 114
3 South Africa 112
4 New Zealand 109
5 Sri Lanka 105
6 England 100
7 Bangladesh 96
8 Pakistan 88
9 West Indies 86
10 Zimbabwe 46
11 Ireland 46
12 Afghanistan 45
