On a given match day rankings of a certain team or player may not always have an influence on the match outcome, but ranking is something that is held in high esteem by players, fans and officials. Had that been the case, the game would have become really boring indeed. The International Cricket Council or ICC, the official body that governs the game gives rankings to players based on their performances both present and past. ICC cricket rankings are given to batsman, bowlers, and all-rounder after every tournament based on their performance. Different rankings are attributed to players and teams for test matches and one day matches. These days most of the top teams of the world have a different team for playing one day matches and a different team for playing test matches, so you have different set of rankings.



If you follow the game carefully you will always come across players who claim that they are not bothered by numbers. Some even go to the extent of claiming that that never keep track of the rankings, so they have no clue as to which player is leading the rankings table. Perhaps they will have all the clues when they enter to the rankings table. When a match is underway there is hardly any time for a player to be awed by the stature or ranking of a certain player. But when a team is making plans for the opposition this is certainly going to have an impact on the way plans are made to curb his play on the field. This holds true not only with lesser established teams in world cricket but also with well established teams.

For example: Ricky Ponting currently leads the ranking table in test cricket and one day cricket, and it is not only the less established teams like Scotland or Bermuda but also well established team like South Africa and India that fear a player of Ponting's caliber. It is not that a player can hold on to his ranking based only on his current performances, but past performances can also help him in holding on to his ranking. Well he may climb down the chart, but he can remain in the chart for a long time banes on his pervious performances. Sachin Tendulkar of India is a good example for this; he was out of the India team for a long time due to injuries. However, based on his past good performances he was able to hold a position in the ranking table for a long time despite being out of action for more than three months.

Many records are made and broken during the course of match and it is the ICC that gives recognition to these records. Imagine how frustrating it would have been had there been no central body to recognize those records. We would probably never been aware of records and rankings that are taking place in the world of cricket. ICC cricket ranking is a sure to boost up the morale and performance levels of a team and the players who are ranked at the top.