Black Caps look to move up in ICC ratings as they take on Bangladesh

Dubai, Jan 2 (UNI) New Zealand would look to take their one-day form into the Tests when they take on Bangladesh in a two-Tests series starting from January 4.

A 2-0 series win over Mohammad Ashraful's side will help the Black Caps close the gap on sixth-placed Pakistan in the ICC Test ranking.

New Zealand is currently placed seventh in the Test Championship on 91 ratings points, three behind Pakistan and 19 ahead of eighth-placed West Indies, which is also playing a Test series against South Africa.

If Daniel Vettori's side wins both the Tests, it will gain two ratings points which will reduce its gap with Pakistan to just one point while increasing the difference to 21 points with the West Indies.

On the other hand, New Zealand will lose points if it fails to win 2-0. It will surrender one ratings point even if it wins the series 1-0 while a 2-0 defeat will cost it 12 points and a 1-0 loss 10 points. A drawn series will bring it down to 86 points.

In contrast, Bangladesh, currently at the bottom of the table with four ratings points, will pocket 13 points for a 2-0 win, 10 points for a 1-0 win, five points for a drawn series and one point if it loses 1-0.

In the ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen, New Zealand's former captain Stephen Fleming is the only batsman from either side in the top 20. Fleming is currently ranked 13th, 13 points adrift of England's Alistair Cook and six points ahead of India's Rahul Dravid.

New Zealand captain Vettori is the next best New Zealand batsman in 36th position. The left-hander, along with Jacob Oram (37th), Scott Styris (48th), Brendon McCullum (50th), Craig Cumming (60th) and Matthew Sinclair (61st) will all be hoping to make progress up the batting list.

For Bangladesh, captain Mohammad Ashraful is the highest ranked batsman in 46th position. Former captain Habibul Bashar (49th), Shahriar Nafees (51st), Rajin Saleh (62nd) and Mushfiqur Rahim (96th) are the other notable batsmen who will want to make an impression over the coming couple of weeks.

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