Nepal and the Netherlands made upwards strides in the ICC’s Men’s annual rankings update. The annual update removes matches from before 1st May 2018 from the calculations and provides a new weighting to more recent matches.
ODI rankings:
On the ODI front, Netherlands have retained their tag as the top Associate nation. Previously ranked 12th, ahead of Full Members Zimbabwe, the Dutch have moved up to 11th in the update, ahead of Ireland. The Dutch now have 49 points on the ranking table, ahead of Ireland on 45.
The update will provide a psychological boost to Ryan Campbell’s men, as they take on Ireland in the ODI Super League in June. Going into the series as the higher ranked side may provide an on-field boost needed to defeat their rivals and boost their chances of a top-twelve finish in the Super League.
Elsewhere in the ODI table, Nepal have overtaken UAE to occupy 16th spot. Cricket World Cup League 2 table-toppers Oman remain 14th, ahead of Scotland. Namibia, USA, and PNG remain 18th, 19th, and 20th, respectively.
T20I rankings
On the T20I table, it is Nepal who have taken the title of top Associate nation. Climbing to 14th after their tri-nations series victory over Netherlands and Malaysia, the rankings update has propelled Nepal into 13th place. UAE, who were previously 13th, slipped to 15th behind Nepal and Scotland.
The only other change in the top 20 was Netherlands and Oman switching places, with the European nation now up to 17th.
Among the biggest moves were Bahrain, Malta, and Mexico. Bahrain gained 7 places to rise from 48th to 41st after the update. Meanwhile, Malta moved up from 69th to 58th, a gain of 11 places. Mexico climbed up a total of 15 places after the update, now in 46th place.
Because of the challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic on international cricket, five nations have fallen off the rankings table. Ghana, Gambia, Sierra Leone, Sweden and Hungary have each not played the minimum six fixtures since 2018 to qualify for a ranking. The updated rankings table has therefore shrunk from 85 to 80 teams.
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