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Cape Town - Australia have regained the prestigious ICC Test mace and also won a cash award of $1m (around R15.32m) after winning the Christchurch Test against New Zealand by seven wickets, which gave them a 2-0 series win.
The result means Australia finished two points ahead of India in the final series before the April 1 cut-off date, with South Africa finishing third.
Steve Smith will receive the mace and the cash award on behalf of his team in a ceremony to be held at a later date.
This is the eighth time Australia have finished as the No 1- ranked Test side at the annual cut-off date since the inception of the current rankings system in 2003. They topped the table each year from 2003 to 2009, before India claimed No 1 spots in 2010 and 2011. England ended as the No 1-ranked side in 2012 before South Africa completed a hat-trick by retaining the top spot from 2013 to 2015.
India, by virtue of finishing second, will collect $500 000, while South Africa will pocket $200 000 (a little over R3m) and Pakistan $100 000 after claiming third and fourth positions, respectively.
It is a double delight for Smith’s men who had earlier topped the ICC ODI team rankings at the annual cut-off date. They finished comfortably ahead of second-placed New Zealand, followed by India, South Africa, Sri Lanka and England.
On the ICC T20I team rankings, India lead the field with South Africa occupying second position following their 2-0 win over England. Those two are followed by the West Indies, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, England and Australia.
A shuffling of the pack is on the cards as a lot of cricket in the shortest format of the game is still to be played before the April 1 cut-off date. While the main round of the Asia Cup T20 will be played from February 24 to March 6 in Mirpur, the 2016 ICC World Twenty20 in India will be staged from March 8 to April 3.
Latest ICC Test, ODI and T20I rankings:
ICC Test Rankings
(under rank, country, points)
1. Australia - 112
2. India - 110
3. South Africa - 109
4. Pakistan - 106
5. England - 102
6. New Zealand - 96
7. Sri Lanka - 89
8. West Indies - 76
9. Bangladesh - 47
10. Zimbabwe - 5
ICC ODI Rankings
(under rank, country, points)
1. Australia - 126
2. New Zealand - 114
3. India - 113
4. South Africa - 112
5. Sri Lanka - 104
6. England - 101
7. Bangladesh - 97
8. Pakistan - 87
9. West Indies - 86
10. Afghanistan - 47
11. Ireland - 46
12. Zimbabwe - 45
ICC T20I Rankings
(under rank, country, points)
1. India - 122
2. South Africa - 119
3. West Indies - 118
4. New Zealand - 116
5. Sri Lanka - 116
6. Pakistan - 113
7. England - 112
8. Australia - 110
9. Afghanistan - 77
10. Scotland - 69
11. Bangladesh - 64
12. Netherlands - 59
13. Zimbabwe - 54
14. Hong Kong - 49
15. Ireland - 48
16. UAE - 42
17. Oman - 32
