New Zealand will go into next week's Test series with Pakistan knowing that victory in the two match series will guarantee it third place on the ICC Test Championship table.

The Kiwi's recent run of form, including drawn series against Australia and England and a win over Bangladesh, has moved it steadily up the Championship table over the past six months. A win against Pakistan would move it ahead of Sri Lanka into third position, with 19 points from 16 series and an average of 1.19.

The last meeting between the two teams in Pakistan ended in a 1 - 1 draw in 1996/97, meaning that both teams hold one point from that series.

A win for Pakistan this time would keep it in 7th place on the table, but close the gap on the 6th placed West Indies team. A drawn series would mean no change for either side, as the point gained would replace the point held from the last series.

ICC Test Championship Table, 25th April 2002

Team          Played   Won   Lost   Drawn   Points  Average
Australia       13      9      2      2       20      1.54 
South Africa    16     11      3      2       24      1.50
Sri Lanka       14      7      5      2       16      1.14 
New Zealand     16      7      5      4       18      1.13 
England         15      6      6      3       15      1.00
West Indies     14      6      7      1       13      0.93 
Pakistan        16      4      7      5       13      0.81 
India           14      4      7      3       11      0.79 
Zimbabwe        16      3     11      2        8      0.50 
Bangladesh       4      0      4      0        0       -   

About the ICC Test Championship

Two points are allocated for winning a series and one for a drawn rubber. The result -and points allocation- of new series replace the previous equivalents.

At present, an average score per series (number of points won divided by number of series played) is used to identify the top side, because not all teams have played each other home and away. This transitional arrangement will change to a straight points system when all teams have played each other home and away, in 2005.

The Championship has been introduced to add interest, context and excitement to the game at the highest level. It runs on a rolling league basis, with the system used for calculating positions based on the results of the most recent series (a minimum of two Test series applies), home and away, between each of the teams.

Media contact:
Mark Harrison
ICC Communications Manager
Tel: + 44 20 7266 7913
Mobile: + 44 (0) 787 944 1891
Email: mark.harrison@icc-cricket.com

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