Kiwis to drop to 8th place in Test ladder if series is lost to Oz

Dubai, Nov 19 (UNI) New Zealand will drop to eighth place on the ICC Test Championship table if it loses both matches in the upcoming series against Australia.

Currently in seventh place behind Pakistan and ahead of the West Indies, Daniel Vettori's team will at least have to draw one match if it is to remain above the men from the Caribbean.

If Australia wins the series 2-0, it will gain just one ratings point. This is because as the number-one ranked side in the world, it is expected to beat the seventh-placed side and so will not benefit much from doing so as the rankings are weighted accordingly.

However, if New Zealand was to win the series 2-0, it would gain no fewer than 10 ratings points and put clear water between itself and the West Indies and begin to heap pressure on Pakistan in sixth place and England one place further above it.

There is just one player in the New Zealand squad currently in the top 20 of the Test rankings in either of the bowling or batting categories.

Vettori can break into the top 10 bowlers in the world with a good display in Brisbane and Adelaide and he is currently enjoying the highest rating of his career so far for Test all-rounders, sitting in second place behind South Africa's Jacques Kallis.

Australia's Stuart Clark was injured for much of the recent tour to India but has been named in the squad for this trans-Tasman series and if he hits his straps he could move ahead of South Africa's Dale Steyn into second position in the bowling rankings.

UNI XC HSB RN1125