Pontings points perspective

What an interesting perspective Ricky Ponting has on world test rankings.

He believes,

"It has taken us a long time and a lot of great wins in different conditions around the world to get us to that No. 1 spot," Ponting told AAP. "If South Africa beat us 3-0 I don't know if that gives them enough points to get over us.

"But if they won the series 1-0 or 2-1, I don't think that would mean that they deserve to take over that mantle. It's a bit the same with India last series. Just because they beat us, the No. 1 team, doesn't necessarily mean they go from the No. 4 or No. 5 in the world to No. 1 in the world, because it's something that's accrued over a long period of time."

If Australia lose 3-0 to South Africa, and given we have recently lost to India 2-0, how can the standings not be affected given these are the two teams below us on the rankings? I appreciate that it is based on a points/rating system, but it is hard to imagine that if Australia get seriously rolled we won't slip a place.

What bugs me about Pontings statement, is that he says that because the lead was created over time, he can't see a team getting enough points to get over Australia from 4th or 5th position. Well Ricky, you might want to check your facts before making such announcements; Sth Africa are 2nd on the ICC rankings! http://content-aus.cricinfo.com/rankings/content/current/page/211271.html

Australia	34	4409	130
South Africa	37	4331	117
India	40	4659	116

Of course all of this could be mind games from Punter, which is good and well apart from getting the facts wrong; but does he think that Sth Africa are playing with the sole intention of ICC rankings, or just to finally beat Australia in a series since returning to world cricket? The tours here in the past have been pretty hard affairs for the Proteas, with Smith, Ntini and Steyn in the top ten of the rankings tables, they must be rating their chances!

stoph verismo
downthewicket

Does the ICC like Bangas (or mash)

"How do you solve a problem like Bangladesh?"
sung to the tune of "How do you solve a problem like Maria" from The sound of music.


What can the ICC do to get some genuine competition from Bangladesh. A test nation since 2000, the scorecard for this country of over 150 million people is rather bleak!

It is rather easy for people to cry out and say that Bangladesh should have their test status denied through lack of results- probably many were the same that said Sri Lanka shouldn't have got their status in 1981... look how competitive they have become! So with that thought in mind, why are people so quick to right off a Bangladeshi test side becoming successful?

Given the desperately impoverished state of the majority of the population, surly the onus for serious cricket development goes back to the ICC? The Global Cricket Academy is a good start as long as it offers world class training without world class costs incurred to people attending.
http://icc-cricket.yahoo.com/development/global-cricket-academy.html

Then there is the ICC development plan and High Performance Program ( http://icc-cricket.yahoo.com/development/development.html ) both honourable objectives with long term outcomes. But the problem for Bangladesh is the lack of results NOW!
In the tradition of Sri Lanka, they have got an ex-first class cricketer from Australia as coach [Jamie Siddons] but for a team with only one win in forty seven tests, something more needs to be done.

It is great that the ICC has a swag of countries interested in more serious membership (104 Member countries including 10 Full, 34 Associate and 60 Affiliate Members), but let's not forget those that are holding up the bottom end of the test ladder, instead of just mashing more sides into the fray. If real dedication to advancement was applied by the ICC for Bangladesh, 150 million people would serve as a bloody deep pool of player talent!