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Pakistan went to Zimbabwe after having come off a poor second best in a collision with the Australian freight train at Sri Lanka and Sharjah in October. The Pakistani team was looking for respectability and rehabilitation in Zimbabwe.
Playing the ninth ranked team was always going to be unlikely to stretch the Pakistani team. The results of the series reflected this. Pakistan won both Tests comfortable by 119 runs and ten wickets.
By winning both Tests in the series, Pakistan has lifted their rating to 1074 points. They now hold a more comfortable 15-point lead over fourth placed England. Luckily for Pakistan, England appear to be in need of a significant amount of good fortune to have any chance of escaping Australia with an increase to their rating.
In the medium term, the battle for third place may also involve India. While India has not won a series away from home since 1993, if India can win their series in New Zealand in December, they may draw level with England. If Pakistan then suffers at the hands of South Africa in late December, then Pakistan, India and England may be very closely bunched.
Pakistan has held a mortgage on third position for most of the last twenty years. Over that period, Pakistan's average rating has been 1090 points. However, Pakistan's average rating over the last four years has been 1073 points. In effect, Pakistan is currently at a historically low ebb and they remain vulnerable to sliding down through the rankings.
However, Pakistan's problems pale into insignificance when compared to Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe is at rock bottom. Zimbabwe's rating has now fallen to 902 points, which is their lowest rating in their eleven-year history in Test cricket. In fact, they have now equalled the lowest rating by any of the established Test nations - set by New Zealand in 1965.
The only thing saving Zimbabwe from being ranked last is the recent addition of tenth placed Bangladesh. Zimbabwe has lost 65 ratings points in the last three years - a period that exactly coincides with domestic troubles such as the invasion of white owned farms by black war veterans and other domestic instability. Coincidence?
Zimbabwe's decline has only been slowed by their two series victories over Bangladesh. Without those wins, Zimbabwe would be at least another twenty points lower.
It is difficult to see Zimbabwe turning around their fortunes in the short term. Zimbabwe is a distant 94 rating points behind eighth placed West Indies. While the West Indian rating has also been in free fall, they are unlikely to drop to Zimbabwean proportions.
Clearly, the domestic distractions within Zimbabwe are going to need to be fixed before their cricketers have any hope of returning better performances.
The latest Test cricket ratings are: 1. Australia (1230); 2. South Africa (1149); 3. Pakistan (1074); 4. England (1059); 5. India (1045); 6. Sri Lanka (1030); 7. New Zealand (1025); 8. West Indies (996); 9. Zimbabwe (902); 10. Bangladesh (826).
