India: top of the world, ma!

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

Can a cricket officianado explain how these rankings work, really?

I've got the stuff off the ICC website about if you beat a team in a series, you get 50 points more than them, plus one, divide by three, and add to their current ranking ...

but it's pretty hard to grasp, even so. Is it just matches within a certain period, for example?

Does it actually mean something to hardcore cricket fans, hammering Sri Lanka by an innnings and becoming the top side? Did it matter during that match - would India not have been top if they'd only won by four wickets, for example?

[Kid A]

India: top of the world, ma!

I think they take each team's last results home and away against everyone else. And I think there is a certain cutoff period, so if you haven't played someone at home for many years that doesn't get included.

I don't think it makes any difference how convincingly you win an individual Test. But it does make a difference what the series result is (winning 2-0 gets you more points than winning 2-1).

I'd say there is a fair amount of kudos in being the top side. But I couldn't tell you where England are in the rankings or how anyone else is doing, which probably says it all.