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Zimbabwe has now recorded their highest rating since June 2000. Even though they lost the series, Zimbabwe gained one rating point to take their rating to 926 points. However, Zimbabwe remains a distant ninth in the Test ratings, still 59 ratings points behind eight placed Sri Lanka.
The vast difference in the strength of South Africa and Zimbabwe is reflected by the 218-point difference in their ratings. This meant that Zimbabwe only needed to record one draw or better to improve their rating. The 1-0 result was the same as the result predicted by the ratings system and so the team?s rating has changed by a small margin as a result of this series.
The Zimbabwean rating went through a sharp fall from 959 rating points in December 1998 to an all time low of 910 points in November 2000. Since that time, Zimbabwe has increased their rating by a total of 15 points.
The only team to have gained more points since November 2000 is Australia with a net gain of 27 points. South Africa is next best with a gain of 5 points.
For Zimbabwe to continue to improve they will need their batsmen to provide more support to Andy Flower. Flower managed another Bradmanesque performance in this series making 408 runs in three completed innings at an average of 136.
Seventeen-year-old Hamilton Masakadza followed his maiden Test century against West Indies in the last series with a reasonable showing against a better class of attack. Masakadeza may be a long term prospect. However, the onus still falls on the other established batsmen.
The Zimbabwean bowling was also hamstrung in this series with Olonga, Strang, Blignaut, Watamba and Murphy not available for both Tests. In addition, Captain Heath Streak is no longer the form bowler of the past. In this series, South Africa was able to score at will at very high run rates for most of the time. This cost Zimbabwe dearly.
It is highly unlikely they could have won the series if they had the strongest attack available. However, the margin of defeat in the first test may have been smaller.
With two Test series against Australia on the horizon, this series serves as a timely for South Africa.
South Africa decimated Zimbabwe on the first day of this series and went on to score 600 runs at better than 4.5 runs per over. They maintained the ascendancy until finally recording a nine-wicket victory. However, South Africa was unable to follow up with a similar performance in the second Test.
South Africa retains second place in the ratings on 1143 points with a comfortable 95-point lead over England and Pakistan who jointly hold third place. Since their demolition of West Indies in 1998/99 their rating has moved within a 13 point band between a low of 1137 points and a high of 1150 points ? their highest rating in history.
At various times in the past, a rating of this level would have been enough to see them hold first place in the ratings. The difference is that Australia is currently challenging the best teams in history and currently holds the 18th highest rating by any nation in history.
South Africa is now 52 points behind the Australians. For South Africa to take the number one position from Australia they will need to step up another level in the same way they did when they destroyed West Indies.
They have a series at home against India to get things right before facing Australia and the return of Donald should help them. However, they may also need to change their mind set.
Against Zimbabwe in the second Test they were 2 for 300 in their first innings at stumps on day four of the second Test. Still 119 runs behind, a draw was looming as the most likely result. In a similar position against Zimbabwe, Australia?s recent history would suggest they might have declared in an effort to manufacture a result out of nothing?
This level of risk taking may be the only way South Africa will overtake Australia in the short term.
The latest Test cricket ratings are: 1 Australia (1205); 2 South Africa (1154); 3 England (1059); 3 Pakistan (1058); 5 West Indies (1044); 6 India (1020); 7 New Zealand (1001); 8 Sri Lanka (993); 9 Zimbabwe (933); 10 Bangladesh (835 - provisional).
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