Power Ranking the ODI Cricket Nations After Summer 2015
There’s still plenty of cricket to come this year, but the season is coming to an end in the northern hemisphere.
It’s been quite a year in one-day cricket with the World Cup now feeling like a distant memory.
This power ranking of ODI cricket nations gives more clout to teams who have beaten those ranked above them, which is why you won’t be too surprised to see who is at the top.
The ranking does not take into account associates and affiliates, though, because they do not play the Test nations enough to move into the top 10.
10. Zimbabwe
1 of 10
Zimbabwe’s cricketing decline continues, and apart from a thrilling win over New Zealand, they have had a terrible year. They were woeful at the World Cup and even more woeful in the ODI series that followed.
During the World Cup, they lost all but one of their matches. Their sole victory came against the United Arab Emirates and even that was an effort, winning by four wickets and just 12 balls remaining. The visit to Pakistan failed to yield a single win and while Zim did manage decent totals (they scored over 250 on both occasions) they just couldn't get over the line.
Another 3-0 series loss to India and a 2-1 loss to Pakistan followed. Experienced players like Hamilton Masakadza and Chamu Chibhabha tried their best, scoring three half centuries between them, but could not convert those scores to go all the way.
9. Sri Lanka
2 of 10
An exit in the World Cup quarterfinals and series losses against New Zealand and Pakistan mean Sri Lanka's stature as an ODI powerhouse has taken a bit of a knock. They are rebuilding, though, so don't expect Sri Lanka to be pushovers for long.
8. West Indies
3 of 10
The West Indies were hammered in South Africa at the start of the year and were woeful during the World Cup. They managed three wins against Pakistan, United Arab Emirates and Zimbabwe, but were hammered by South Africa, losing by 257 runs and lost to Ireland by four wickets. Inconsistent performances from some of their star players, including Chris Gayle, meant that the swagger of the West Indies was lacking and the men from the Caribbean were always playing catch up.
They have not played much ODI cricket this year, so perhaps this ranking is a little bit harsh on them, but whenever the Windies have played, they have shown they need to pull up their socks. The West Indies cricket board need to get their house in order, though, and make sure that their top players are paid properly and lured away by foreign T20 leagues.
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7. England
4 of 10
England are improving steadily, but they still lost their ODI series against Australia. Fresh faces and a new coach has helped change their brand of cricket to insular and boring to vibrant and exciting. Players seem to have lost their fear of losing and now go out and take chances a usually conservative England would avoid. They were also quite bad during the World Cup, so it’s difficult to justify a higher ranking. Losses to Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, New Zealand and Australia meant that they even failed to reach the quarterfinals of the tournament, despite the tournament being set up in a way to favour the "big teams". That failure was possibly England's lowest point this year.
6. Pakistan
5 of 10
A series loss to Bangladesh knocked Pakistan's ranking quite a bit. While Bangladesh's performance in the World Cup was impressive, by the time Pakistan came to visit, they were still considered a "minnow" team and Pakistan were considered favourites. They did manage a convincing series win over Zimbabwe, but the southern Africa team are one of the worst ODI teams going so it doesn't count for much. An impressive series victory over Sri Lanka does give Pakistan a bit of a boost, as beating Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka is never easy, no matter how much the islanders are struggling. Pakistan lack consistency, but not the talent to offer that consistency.
5. India
6 of 10
It was nearly impossible to separate India and South Africa. Both had a decent run during the World Cup and both lost a series to Bangladesh. India managed a series victory in Zimbabwe, but they struggled in the tri-series between England, India and Australia earlier in the year. For those struggles, South Africa just pip India in the power ranking. India's ability to win away from home needs to improve and the fact that they failed to win a single ODI in that tri-series is evidence of that.
4. South Africa
7 of 10
South Africa's semi-final loss against New Zealand in the World Cup was a massive disappointment. They also lost to Bangladesh, and while they did manage to win a series against the Black Caps, they lacked consistency in that series. They swung from a right win in the first ODI to an emphatic loss in the second and a bit win in the final match. Even with their star players like AB de Villiers, Hashim Amla, Dale Steyn and Vernon Philander present, South Africa just couldn't string together two convincing performances in a row.
3. New Zealand
8 of 10
New Zealand have series victories against Sri Lanka and Pakistan to show for their efforts prior to finishing runners-up at the World Cup. Winning on home soil as they did against Sri Lanka is expected, though, and offered some good preparation ahead of the World Cup. But some will argue that the fact that they played so much cricket on home soil was actually a hinderance. Take nothing away from Australia, they were emphatic on the day of the final, but the Black Caps played all of their World Cup games prior to the final on home turf and never got a chance to familiarise themselves with Australian conditions. A really good team can win away from home without getting clattered like New Zealand were in that final. Let's face it, being bowled out for 183 is hardly the mark of an all-conquering team.
Losses to England and South Africa (both away from home) further underscores the point that the Black Caps need to work on their away record. They did manage to beat Zimbabwe, but even there it was not a clean sweep as they lost one of their their ODIs on Zimbabwean soil.
2. Australia
9 of 10
As World Cup winners, it would be unfair to rank Australia any lower than second. They didn't play much ODI cricket following their World Cup win in March, but series victories against England and a tri-series win over the same opposition and India earlier in the year count for something. Bangladesh played more cricket than them, but also pips them to the number-one power ranking as Bangladesh were considered "minnows" at the start of the year and have won every series against teams ranked higher than them this year.
1. Bangladesh
10 of 10
Bangladesh are by far the most improved ODI team this year. After making it to the quarterfinals of the World Cup, they have series wins over Pakistan, India and South Africa under their belt. A tough series against Australia awaits, but with burgeoning self-confidence, Bangladesh might just spring a surprise over the world champions.
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