The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the one that governs the rankings in cricket. Rankings are given to teams, batters, and bowlers in every format of the sport – Test, ODI and T20 Internationals.
Rankings of batters is based on a points system. This system sees a player getting points between 0 to 1000. The number of points that a player gets is based on a computer algorithm. There is no human intervention in this calculation process. However, what we do know are the factors that the computer takes into consideration while assigning points to players.
The first factor is whether the batter has remained out or not out at the end of the innings. The latter is worth more points. The next is the cumulative bowling ranking of the opposition. The third factor is the number of runs that the batter has scored. In test cricket, a century in the second innings fetches more points.
A player also gets more points based on the situation in which the runs were scored. The next factor is the proportion of runs the batter has scored compared to the team total. Finally, if the team wins, then the player gets more points. The points get a further boost if the defeated team is a stronger side.
Test match rankings are updated after every match whereas ODI rankings are updated at the end of the series. Usually, a player with 500 points or more can get into the Top 100. A player with over 750 points can be a Top 10 player.
The most points accumulated by a batter in test rankings is Don Bradman (961) whereas in ODIs the accolade belongs to Viv Richards (935).
