ICC Men's T20I Team Rankings

ICC Men's T20I Team Rankings

Administrator	International Cricket Council
Creation	2011
Number of teams	85
Current top ranking	England (277 rating)
Longest cumulative top ranking	Sri Lanka (35 months)
Longest continuous top ranking	Pakistan (27 months)
Highest rating	Pakistan (286 rating)
Last updated on: 3 May 2021.

The ICC Men's T20I Team Rankings is an international Twenty20 cricket rankings system of the International Cricket Council.^[1] After every T20I match, the two teams involved receive points based on a mathematical formula. The total of each team's points total is divided by the total number of matches to give a rating, and all teams are ranked on a table in order of rating.^[2] According to the ICC website, "teams will need to play six matches against other teams in the previous three to four years to remain in the rankings table."^[3]

England currently leads the ICC Men's T20I Team Rankings as of 1 December 2020.^[4]

Current rankings[]

ICC Men's T20I Team Rankings v t
Rank	Team	Matches	Points	Rating
1	England	28	7,786	278
2	India	26	7,456	266
3	Pakistan	34	8,883	261
4	New Zealand	28	7,192	257
5	South Africa	29	7,208	249
6	Bangladesh	26	6,259	241
7	Australia	33	7,923	240
8	Afghanistan	12	2,826	236
9	West Indies	29	6,792	234
10	Sri Lanka	21	4,849	231
11	Zimbabwe	27	5,140	190
12	Ireland	26	4,930	190
13	Nepal	19	3,556	187
14	Scotland	11	2,035	185
15	United Arab Emirates	11	2,023	184
16	Papua New Guinea	14	2,501	179
17	Netherlands	20	3,504	175
18	Oman	10	1,732	173
19	Namibia	14	2,204	157
20	Singapore	12	1,678	140
21	Qatar	11	1,422	129
22	Canada	10	1,263	126
23	Hong Kong	13	1,572	121
24	Jersey	13	1,481	114
25	Kenya	8	894	112
26	Italy	6	663	111
27	Kuwait	8	866	108
28	Saudi Arabia	4	428	107
29	Bermuda	6	568	95
30	Denmark	9	849	94
31	Germany	14	1,232	88
32	Malaysia	20	1,723	86
33	Uganda	10	847	85
34	United States	8	644	81
35	Botswana	10	786	79
36	Nigeria	5	375	75
37	Guernsey	9	645	72
38	Romania	17	1,158	68
39	Norway	10	667	67
40	Belgium	17	1,048	62
41	Austria	13	775	60
42	Spain	8	457	57
43	Bahrain	4	227	57
44	Tanzania	3	167	56
45	Sweden	10	536	54
46	Philippines	5	241	48
47	France	7	333	48
48	Mexico	7	313	45
49	Cayman Islands	3	132	44
50	Vanuatu	10	435	44
51	Belize	5	209	42
52	Portugal	9	374	42
53	Argentina	5	206	41
54	Luxembourg	16	607	38
55	Peru	5	179	36
56	Fiji	3	105	35
57	Finland	9	313	35
58	Malawi	9	312	35
59	Panama	5	162	32
60	Hungary	5	159	32
61	Samoa	5	159	32
62	Costa Rica	4	126	32
63	Japan	4	126	32
64	Ghana	7	209	30
65	Thailand	7	175	25
66	Malta	20	436	22
67	Czech Republic	19	396	21
68	South Korea	4	78	20
69	Mozambique	9	175	19
70	Isle of Man	4	77	19
71	Greece	5	94	19
72	Bulgaria	16	233	15
73	Bhutan	4	47	12
74	Maldives	7	65	9
75	Saint Helena	6	55	9
76	Rwanda	8	70	9
77	Brazil	5	39	8
78	Chile	5	19	4
79	Myanmar	3	1	0
80	Gibraltar	9	0	0
81	Serbia	5	0	0
82	China	4	0	0
83	Turkey	3	0	0
84	Eswatini	3	0	0
85	Lesotho	3	0	0
86	Indonesia	3	0	0
References: ICC T20I rankings, ESPNcricinfo, Updated on 13 September 2021
"Matches" is the number of matches played in the 12-24 months since the May before last, plus half the number in the 24 months before that.

Points calculations[]

Time period[]

Each team scores points based on the results of their matches over the last 3−4 years − all matches played in the 12–24 months since the May before last, plus all the matches played in the 24 months before that, for which the matches played and points earned both count half.^[5] Each May, the matches and points earned between 3 and 4 years ago are removed, and the matches and points earned between 1 and 2 years ago switch from 100% weighting to 50% weighting. For example, at May 2014, the matches played between May 2010 and May 2011 were removed, and the matches played between May 2012 and May 2013 switched to 50% weighting (the matches from May 2011 to April 2012 would have already been at 50% following the previous rerating). This happens overnight, so can result in teams changing positions in the ranking table despite not playing.

May 2010

May 2011

May 2012

May 2013

May 2014

May 2015

Between May 2013 and May 2014:

Results that were achieved during this period have 50% weighting

Results that were achieved during this period have 100% weighting

Between May 2014 and May 2015:

Results that were achieved during this period have 50% weighting

Results that were achieved during this period have 100% weighting

Find the points earned from a match[]

Each time two teams play another match, the rankings table is updated as follows, based on the ratings of the teams immediately before they played. To determine the teams' new ratings after a particular match, first calculate the points earned from the match:

If the gap between the ratings of the two teams before the match was less than 40 points, then points will be as follows:

Match result	Points earned
Win	Opponent's rating + 50
Tie	Opponent's rating
Lose	Opponent's rating − 50

If the gap between the ratings of the two teams before the match was at least 40 points, then points will be as follows:

Match result	Points earned
Stronger team wins	Own rating + 10
Weaker team loses	Own rating − 10
Stronger team ties	Own rating − 40
Weaker team ties	Own rating + 40
Stronger team loses	Own rating − 90
Weaker team wins	Own rating + 90

Example[]

Suppose Team A, with an initial rating of 100, plays Team B. The table shows the points awarded to the two teams for 9 different initial ratings for B (ranging from 20 to 160), and the three possible match results.

Initial ratings		Scenario	Team A wins & Team B loses. Points earned:				Match tied. Points earned:				Team A loses & Team B wins. Points earned:					Total initial ratings	Total points earned (All 3 results)
Team A	Team B		Team A		Team B		Team A		Team B		Team A		Team B
100	20	Initial ratings at least 40 points apart	Stronger team wins: Own rating + 10	110	Weaker team loses: Own rating − 10	10	Stronger team ties: Own rating − 40	60	Weaker team ties: Own rating + 40	60	Stronger team loses: Own rating − 90	10	Weaker team wins: Own rating + 90	110		120	120
100	40			110		30		60		80		10		130		140	140
100	60			110		50		60		100		10		150		160	160
100	70	Initial ratings less than 40 points apart	Win: Opponent's rating + 50	120	Lose: Opponent's rating − 50	50	Tie: Opponent's rating	70	Tie: Opponent's rating	100	Lose: Opponent's rating − 50	20	Win: Opponent's rating + 50	150		170	170
100	90			140		50		90		100		40		150		190	190
100	110			160		50		110		100		60		150		210	210
100	130			180		50		130		100		80		150		230	230
100	140	Initial ratings at least 40 points apart	Weaker team wins: Own rating + 90	190	Stronger team loses: Own rating − 90	50	Weaker team ties: Own rating + 40	140	Stronger team ties: Own rating − 40	100	Weaker team loses: Own rating − 10	90	Stronger team wins: Own rating + 10	150		240	240
100	160			190		70		140		120		90		170		260	260

This illustrates that:

• The winning team earns more points than the losing team. (Unless the ratings are more than 180 apart and the weaker team wins − highly unlikely.)
• Winning always earns a team 100 points more than losing, and 50 more than tying.
• The total points earned by the two teams is always the same as the total initial ratings of the two teams.
• The points earned by a winning team increases as the initial rating (quality) of the opposition increases, within the constraints of earning at least its own initial rating + 10, and no more than its own initial rating + 90. A winning team therefore always earns more points than its initial rating, increasing its overall average rating.
• The points earned by a losing team increases as the initial rating (quality) of the opposition increases, within the constraints of earning at least its own initial rating − 90, and no more than its own initial rating − 10. A losing team therefore always earns fewer points than its initial rating, decreasing its overall average rating.
• In a tie, the weaker team usually earns more points than the stronger team (unless the initial ratings are at least 80 apart), reflecting the fact that a tie is a better result for the weaker team than the stronger team. Also, the stronger team will earn fewer points than its initial rating, decreasing its average, and the weaker team more points that its initial rating, increasing its average.
• For a given result, the rule of how the two teams' points are calculated changes as the initial ratings change, from being based on teams' own ratings when one team is far stronger, to being based on the opponent's ratings when the teams are closely matched, back to being based on own ratings when the other team is far stronger. However, despite these sudden changes in the rule, the number of points awarded for each result changes smoothly as the initial ratings change.

Find the new ratings[]

• Each team's rating is equal to its total points scored divided by the total matches played. (Series are not significant in these calculations).
• Add the match points scored to the points already scored (in previous matches as reflected by the table), add one to the number of matches played, and determine the new rating.
• Points earned by teams depend on the opponent's ratings, therefore this system needed to assign base ratings to teams when it started.

Historical rankings[]

This table lists the teams that have historically held the highest rating since the T20I rankings was introduced.^{[citation needed]}

Country	Start	End	Duration	Cumulative	Highest Rating
England	24 October 2011[6]	7 August 2012 [7]	289 days	289 days	140
South Africa	8 August 2012	11 September 2012	35 days	35 days	137
England	12 September 2012	21 September 2012	10 days	299 days	130
South Africa	22 September 2012	28 September 2012	7 days	42 days	134
Sri Lanka	29 September 2012	27 March 2014	545 days	545 days	134
India	28 March 2014	2 April 2014	6 days	6 days	130
Sri Lanka	3 April 2014	3 April 2014	1 day	546 days	131
India	4 April 2014	5 April 2014	2 days	8 days	132
Sri Lanka	6 April 2014	30 April 2014	25 days	571 days	133
India	1 May 2014	6 September 2014	129 days	137 days	131
Sri Lanka	7 September 2014	9 January 2016	490 days	1061 days	135
West Indies	10 January 2016	30 January 2016	21 days	21 days	118
India	31 January 2016	8 February 2016	9 days	146 days	120
Sri Lanka	9 February 2016	11 February 2016	3 days	1064 days	121
India	12 February 2016	3 May 2016	82 days	228 days	127
New Zealand	4 May 2016	31 October 2017	546 days	546 days	132
Pakistan	1 November 2017	3 November 2017	3 days	3 days	124
New Zealand	4 November 2017	6 November 2017	3 days	549 days	124
Pakistan	7 November 2017	2 January 2018	57 days	60 days	124
New Zealand	3 January 2018	27 January 2018	25 days	574 days	128
Pakistan	28 January 2018	30 April 2020	824 days	884 days	286
Australia	1 May 2020	5 September 2020	128 days	128 days	278
England	6 September 2020	7 September 2020	2 days	301 days	273
Australia	8 September 2020	30 November 2020	84 days	212 days	275
England	1 December 2020	Present			278
Last updated 1 September 2021

The summary of teams that have held the highest rating by days, are:

Team	Total Days	Highest Rating
Sri Lanka	1064	135
Pakistan	884	286
England	576	278
New Zealand	574	132
India	228	132
Australia	212	278
South Africa	42	137
West Indies	21	118

See also[]

• ICC Men's ODI Team Rankings
• ICC Men's Test Team Rankings
• List of Twenty20 International Records
• International cricket
• ICC Women's Cricket Rankings
• ICC Player Rankings

References[]

External links[]

• ICC Men's T20I Team Rankings