Nepal, Netherlands gain in annual rankings update

Nepal and the Netherlands made upwards strides in the ICC’s Men’s annual rankings update. The annual update removes matches from before 1^st 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 12^th, ahead of Full Members Zimbabwe, the Dutch have moved up to 11^th 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 16^th spot. Cricket World Cup League 2 table-toppers Oman remain 14^th, ahead of Scotland. Namibia, USA, and PNG remain 18^th, 19^th, and 20^th, respectively.

T20I rankings

On the T20I table, it is Nepal who have taken the title of top Associate nation. Climbing to 14^th after their tri-nations series victory over Netherlands and Malaysia, the rankings update has propelled Nepal into 13^th place. UAE, who were previously 13^th, slipped to 15^th 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 17^th.

Among the biggest moves were Bahrain, Malta, and Mexico. Bahrain gained 7 places to rise from 48^th to 41^st after the update. Meanwhile, Malta moved up from 69^th to 58^th, a gain of 11 places. Mexico climbed up a total of 15 places after the update, now in 46^th 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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