To say that ranking is 'just another number to me' and 'I don't care about them' is a clichéd statement. But many cricket players use this oft repeated statement whenever a new ranking comes up and they see that they are listed no where among the top. Ranking in any sport be it cricket or tennis is something that many people do not like, but there is no escape from it. ICC cricket rankings are the most widely recognized and accepted rankings in the world of cricket.
ICC also known as the International Cricket Council is the governing body in the cricket world. The game is controlled and administered by this governing body. ICC cricket rankings are widely accepted as official rankings in the cricket field. ICC gives rankings both to countries and individual cricket players. Rankings given to teams depend on two factors. The first factor is the performance of the team in the field and the second factor is the strength of the opposing team. This means that if any team wins against a strong opposition like Australia, their ranking can shoot up but if the win is against a low ranked team like Bangladesh, then there may be very little change in the rankings.
ICC cricket ranking are of various kinds. Broadly the rankings are divided in to one day international cricket ranking and test cricket ranking. Under both test cricket ranking and one day international ranking there is country ranking and individual player ranking. Within both the one day and test cricket rankings, players are individually ranked based on their performance and ability. So you can see the list of top ten batsmen, top ten bowlers and the top ten all-rounders in the world. The ICC provides a list of all top 100 players of the game for those who are really interested in knowing about players those who do not figure at the top ten.
Cricket fans eagerly await the release of the list of top players and the top playing cricket nation after every major tournament. Players are ranked on a scale of 0 points to 1000 points. ICC cricket rankings takes in to consideration the past performance of a player for giving rankings. So this means that even if a player is not active in the international cricket scene for a long time due to any reason, he can maintain his ranking at the top ten based on his previous exceptional performances.
Sachin Tendulkar of India is the best example of this. He was not active in the international cricket arena for about four to five months. However due to his consistent performance in the past he was in the list of top twenty players for a long time. The latest ICC cricket ranking has Australia as the top team for both test matches and one day internationals. Adam Gilchrist of Australia and Shaun Pollock of South Africa are the top ranked batsmen and bowler respectively in the latest one day international rankings released by the International Cricket Council.
Ella Wilson is a cricket fanatic. She simply loves the game and tries to catch live action no matter where she is.At Stickiewicket she works on online cricket score, Fantasy cricket and ICC cricket ranking among other things.You can see her works at http://www.stickiewicket.com