Australia given an easy ride to world no.1 Test ranking

Cricket Australia (CA) will cite the COVID-19 pandemic as the reason behind their lack of involvement in Tests for close to two years. But a large portion of the blame should be turned inward. CA has done close to nothing in terms of trying to ensure the Aussies play Tests, almost to the point where one would think the goal was to prevent cricket being played.

Australia has become a bastion of indefinite postponement in world cricket. Two Tests against Bangladesh, three ODIs against Zimbabwe, three T20Is against the West Indies, two Tests against Afghanistan, three Tests against South Africa, and the white ball series against New Zealand were sent into the abyss amidst the pandemic.

In the 22-month period between January 2020 and November 2021, the Aussies played just four Tests - a home series versus India. For reference, England played over 20 Tests in the said period.

CA canceled the series against South Africa in early 2021 despite the Africans ensuring it would be safe to tour their nation. The Afghanistan Test, which was scheduled for November 2021, has been postponed twice now with nothing replacing it.

Between the India series that ended in January 2021 and the start of the Ashes in December 2021, Australia played no Test cricket.

There was scope to even schedule Tests in winter amidst fears of leaving the country during the pandemic. In early 2000s, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe toured Darwin and Cairns to play Test matches, proving it's possible to play in the northern tropics during the colder months in the southern states.

It begs the question as to how Australia could possibly be the world's no.1 Test sides after playing such a small amount of Test cricket?

The period considered for the current rankings is from April 1 2018, (matches before March 31 2020 only have 50 percent weightage). Australia are ranked first in the world from 23 matches, with a rating of 119 and a win-loss record of 15-7.

Away Tests do not give any extra weight in the rankings - the Aussies have only played seven Tests overseas in this period. India, who were previously ranked first, played 25 away Tests, including two series wins in Australia. Additionally, Team India have not received any points for the pending Test series in England, where they were winning 2-1 with one game left.

The matches used to calculate Australia's rankings are distorted and and the system urgently requires amending to address the dominance of home sides in Test cricket.

CA's reluctance to play Test cricket during the pandemic has resulted in their side becoming ranked no.1 - and judgment is owed on whether Australia's standing as the world's best is fair or not.

India's home win-loss record in the ranking period was 12-1, while New Zealand's was 11-1. But the two nations played more away Tests, which brought their overall win-loss record down and essentially moved Australia up the rankings.

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Another series postponement for Australia

The cancelation of the white-ball series against New Zealand is an all too familiar story for CA. It will be another blow to CA's bottom line, which has already taken a cumulative cut upward of $100 million from various COVID-19-related losses.

They were due to play three ODIs and one T20I in January-February, but the latest postponement is set to add to the losses of past seasons.

Fox Sports has exclusive rights to broadcast white-ball cricket, having inked a mammoth $1.182 billion deal alongside Seven West Media to broadcast all formats. The absent series is expected to make a dent in that figure, but could recuperate at a later date.

A five-match T20I series against Sri Lanka is still expected to go ahead in February.