Brathwaite hails new ‘beginning’ as Windies up to sixth in Tests
LONDON, (CMC):
CAPTAIN KRAIGG Brathwaite said Wednesday West Indies were now beginning to write a new chapter of their history after the Caribbean side climbed to sixth in the International Cricket Council Test team rankings – their highest-ever ranking in almost a decade.
In the latest annual ICC update Wednesday, West Indies had jumped two places to sixth, gaining three ratings points to move to 84 points and leapfrog both South Africa and Sri Lanka.
The results come on the back of a 2-0 whitewash of Bangladesh in Dhaka back in March and a drawn two-Test series against Sri Lanka in the Caribbean last month.
Reacting to the news, the recently appointed Brathwaite said he was“very proud” of the unit but stressed it was important they continued to build on the good work over the last couple of series.
“I’m obviously very proud of the team to have jumped two places up on the Test rankings,” the opener said from England where he is representing Gloucestershire i n the County Championship.
“I think this is just the beginning of good things to come. As a group it shows us that we can go up the ladder, and it’s just a matter for us to keep working hard and keep that mindset and keep that belief.”
WORST PERIOD IN TEAM’S HISTORY
The often embattled Caribbean side have languished in the nether regions of the ICC rankings for over a decade, with Test series wins hard to come by in what has underlined perhaps one of the worst periods in the team’s history.
In fact, they have won only eight of their last 31 series inside the last 10 years, and have also struggled to beat top-tier sides with any consistency.
They suffered a 2-1 defeat away to England last summer and then a 2-0 thumping in New Zealand, but under new captain Brathwaite, stunned Bangladesh and avoided defeat to Sri Lanka, resulting in their highest ranking since 2013.
Meanwhile, India have remained top of the pile on 121 points after gaining a single point, and are narrowly ahead of New Zealand (120) who they face shortly in the World Test Championship final.
England are third on 109 points with Australia one point back in fourth and Pakistan fifth on 94 points.
South Africa’s seven-place ranking equals their lowest ever spot in the ICC charts.