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South Africa National Cricket Team dethrones the Australia National Cricket Team in the ICC men's Test team rankings. As soon as the Temba Bavuma-led team defeats Australia in the recently concluded match in Cape Town, the World Test Championship 202527 (WTC 2025-27) points table takes a massive turn.
Pushing Australia behind in the rankings, the South Africa cricket team becomes the new No.1 in the ICC Test team rankings.
South Africa becomes the new No.1 in Test rankings
In the Cape Town Test match, SA defeats Australia by a massive 176-run margin, as the Pat Cummins-led team dundeled only for 111 runs against a 288-run target in the match. With the win, Bavuma and his boys claim the 3-match Test series by a 2-1 margin as well.
Two defeats against South Africa dented the momentum of the Australian cricket team. The Cape Town match was a must-win for them to keep their position on top of the ICC Test team rankings. To win the match, the visitors needed to score 288 runs on Day 5.
The Baggy Greens had firepower in their batting attack in the form of Travis Head, Matt Renshaw, Josh Inglis, Cameron Green, and many others. SA also had their own weapons to protect their total at the dying moments. For the defending champions of the previous edition of the World Test Championship (WTC), Simon Harmer ran havoc on the opposing batting line-up, taking 6 wickets in the second innings. Kagiso Rabada claimed three wickets as well.
Latest ICC Test team rankings after the Cape Town Test match
After the match, the Proteas are at the top of the ICC men's Test team rankings with 124 rating points after playing only 23 matches, while Australia has 122 rating points in 31 Tests. SA has so far played less number of matches in compare to the Aussies, but they have utilised most from their games.
In the rest of the rankings, there are no changes. In the third and fourth spots of the standings, there are New Zealand and India, respectively. Despite thrashing Pakistan in a home Test series, England is at No.5 in the rankings. Pakistan, however, is ranked ninth in the top ten table.
ICC men's Test team rankings after the South Africa vs Australia 3rd Test match:
Position | Team | Matches | Points | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | South Africa | 23 | 2,860 | 124 |
2 | Australia | 31 | 3,787 | 122 |
3 | New Zealand | 22 | 2,336 | 106 |
4 | India | 29 | 3,042 | 105 |
5 | England | 36 | 3,658 | 102 |
6 | Bangladesh | 25 | 1,916 | 77 |
7 | Sri Lanka | 19 | 1,434 | 75 |
8 | West Indies | 27 | 2,008 | 74 |
9 | Pakistan | 23 | 1,623 | 71 |
10 | Zimbabwe | 13 | 217 | 17 |
South Africa and Australia both fought well in Cape Town
It was a seesaw match between the top two Test-playing teams, as they knew the importance of the match. The match started in favor of the SA batters, but the away team's bowlers made a comeback soon. The home side's first innings was restricted to 329 after a 158-run partnership in the opening stand.
Australia replied with 429 runs, taking a 100-run lead. On the slow track, batting was not easy. Centuries by Wiaan Mulder and Ryan Rickelton shaped the last couple of days of the match. In the end, it was the experienced spinner, Simon Harmer, who sealed the match for South Africa.
