Proteas in the money following ICC ranking cut-off

Cape Town - The Proteas are in the money - to the tune of nearly R6 million - following the cut-off date for the ICC Test Team rankings on Tuesday.

The cut-off for the annual rankings is normally April 1, but was extended this year owing to two series (South Africa v Australia and New Zealand v England) only ending on April 3.

Faf du Plessis' men finished the year in second place, despite recent series wins over India (2-1) and Australia (3-1).

India were presented with the ICC Test Championship Mace back in February after they were assured of the top position at the cut-off date - and banked $1 million in prize money for their efforts.

South Africa will receive a purse of $500 000 for finishing second.

Meanwhile, Australia's recent troubles were compounded further when they were leapfrogged by cross-Tasman rivals New Zealand following the Black Caps' 1-0 series win over England.

The swapping of places resulted in New Zealand finishing third ($200 000) and Australia slipping to fourth and receiving half that amount.

The annual updates to the ICC rankings will be carried out on May 1 to ensure that the tables continue to reflect the recent form of sides with older results being discarded. The updated tables will reflect all matches from May 1, 2015, with matches played from May 1, 2017 carrying 100 percent weightage.

Latest ICC Test Team rankings:

(Under rank, team, points)

1. India - 121

2. South Africa - 117

3. New Zealand - 102

4. Australia - 102

5. England - 97

6. Sri Lanka - 95

7. Pakistan -  88

8. Windies - 72

9. Bangladesh - 71