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The Australian rating has increased to 1204 points and they have again extended their lead in the ratings provided by the Test Cricket Ratings Service. The Australian rating has now broken through the 1200-point barrier for the first time since Benaud's Australians defeated Pakistan in 1959.
Both Stephen Waugh and John Buchanan have stated that they want to create a place in history for this Australian Test team. Their place in history is currently the equal third best rating by any nation in the history of Test cricket.
The Australian's have equalled the third highest rating by any team in the history of Test cricket set by (Sir) Vivian Richards' West Indians in May 1989 (1204).
The 1200 point barrier has only been passed four times over the 124-year history of Test cricket. Those teams that have done so have not stayed there long.
The current Australians could increase their rating even higher in their next two series. They are the first team since the Richards' Era to have shown the potential to eclipse Hassett's record rating of 1228.
To do this, they will have to wait for the mid year showdown with England to break this record. The series against India in February can only increase their rating to a maximum of 1215 points if they win all three tests.
However, no Australian team has ever won all their Tests in India in eight attempts. Australia last won a Test series in India in 1969. Since that time Australia has toured India four times for one win, five losses, six draws and one tie.
Australia has now increased its lead over the second placed South Africa to 60 ratings points. This is the largest such lead since the West Indies led the then second placed Australia in August 1994.
The news is not so good for the West Indians. This is their seventh straight tour loss with their last series win away from home against New Zealand in February 1995. This sequence includes 5 wins, 23 losses and 3 draws.
The West Indian rating has fallen to 1025 points and they now find themselves in fifth place in the ratings. Their lead over sixth placed India has been cut by two-thirds to just 14 ratings points.
This is the lowest West Indian rating since March 1958 (1011). The West Indians have never been ranked below fifth place and have not been ranked below India since 1947.
The West Indians next host a five Test tour by South Africa starting in March. They have a significantly better record during their home series. The West Indians have not lost home series since Australian toured in 1995. They can help revive their rating if they keep this record intact.
For Australia, the five to nil whitewash is also an historic achievement. It has only happened seven times before in the history of Test cricket.
Australia has increased their rating by a total of 90 points since their series loss to Sri Lanka in late 1999. The size of this increase does not often occur in such a short time. It is usually associated with the most successful teams in history.
As a comparison, the next two most improved teams over this same period are England with an increase of 44 points and Sri Lanka with a 20-point increase. Both of these teams have started with a much lower base. This makes such an increase much easier compared to the Australians.
The latest test cricket ratings are: 1 Australia (1204); 2 South Africa (1144); 3 England (1056); 4 Pakistan (1053); 5 West Indies (1025); 6 India (1011); 7 New Zealand (988); 8 Sri Lanka (981); 9 Zimbabwe (911); 10 Bangladesh (876p - provisional).
