TapsC wrote: ↑Sat Sep 09, 2017 10:13 pm
The West Indies are improving simply because they play a lot more than us. That's the only way you can improve and that's why the test league for me is counter-productive. I have no doubt in my mind that if we played 3 tests against this Sri Lanka we would have won 1. I also believe we will beat the west indies at least once but I fear that ZC will convert one test into 3 ODIs to make more money. If the ICC really wanted to help us they would subsidize all our test matches so that we break even. you cant exactly blame the board for making $4 million by playing limited overs games against india instead of tests.. in the end they need money to survive. for me the big 3 plus SA as well as NZ and Pakistan recently are the real test forces. I honestly wouldn't expect Bangladesh, Sri Lanka or the West Indies to white wash us at home so I don't believe they should be put in a higher league. in the end every game has minnows. As long as we push tests up to the 5th day then we should be allowed to be in the same league as some of these countries.
This might be of interest to those who like stats crunching...
I have created my own rankings forumula as an alternative to the ICC's official ones. I've posted about it before, but have recently re-done the formula. I have carefully tabulated not just wins and losses, but also batting and bowling averages since April 2015 (right after the world cup). Admittedly, my system does throw in a few surprises, but because I have very carefully set the formula, I am prepared to argue for its merits.
The biggest surprise is that as of right now,
Zimbabwe are indeed ranked ahead of the West Indies in Test match cricket!
Certainly, my own formula argues against my position that Zimbabwe don't belong in a Test league!
Here are the full rankings according to my table, current as of September 11, 2017:
1. India (17 wins, 2 losses, 6 draws) - 2.505
2. England (17 wins, 16 losses, 5 draws) - 2.456
3. Australia (16 wins, 11 losses, 3 draws) - 2.324
4. Pakistan (11 wins, 10 losses, 2 draws) - 2.265
5. Sri Lanka (11 wins, 12 losses, 1 draw) - 2.262
6. South Africa (9 wins, 9 losses, 7 draws) - 2.224
7. New Zealand (9 wins, 10 losses, 4 draws) - 2.023
8. Bangladesh (3 wins, 7 losses, 4 draws) - 0.812
9. Zimbabwe (0 wins, 5 losses, 0 draws) - 0.514
10. West Indies (4 wins, 15 losses, 4 draws) - 0.486
Some of the basic features of my system:
- wins in alien conditions are given bonuses, while losses at home are penalized
- home wins aren't penalized, but don't get bonuses either
- the margin of victory/defeat is factored
- the opposition's overall, batting, and bowling strength are also factored
- every series is scored from a minimum of 0 points (losing all matches) to 2 points (winning all matches)
- the rating is calculated as weighted average across all matches
India has a tremendous win loss record, but is only marginally ahead of England and Australia because India have won almost exclusively at home.
Sri Lanka are relatively highly ranked due to having beaten a relatively strong Australia side 3-0 just last year.
South Africa are only one or two big series away from the top ranking, but find themselves at 6th because of their mediocre W-L record.
Zimbabwe edged past the Windies on the back of an impressive performance overseas against a relatively strong SL side (who beat the Aussies 3-0).