The first Test between Pakistan and England will get underway at Dubai Sports City International Cricket Stadium from Tuesday (today). England is eying to win US $175,000 for topping the International Cricket Council (ICC) Test Championship table in the three-Test series while Pakistan will be targeting to narrow the gap with the top four place in the table.
The annual award is presented to the side that finishes at the head of the ICC Test championship table on April 1. Number-one Test ranked England leads fifth-ranked Pakistan by 26 ratings points and as the rankings system is weighed to reflect this difference, Pakistan could earn significant number of points if it is successful in the series.
If Pakistan wins the series 1-0 or 2-1, it will gain six rating points and rise to 105 points, while England will drop to 120 ratings points, whereas Pakistan will move to 107 ratings points and England will slip to 119 ratings points if Misbah-ul-Haq's side wins the series 2-0, said an ICC news release issued on the eve of the Pak-England series.
In the situation of a 3-0 clean sweep, Pakistan will jump to 108 ratings points, while England will concede seven rating points and move to 118. In a sharp contrast, if England wins the series 1-0 or 2-1, both the sides will retain their pre-series ratings points, while England side will gain one and three ratings points, respectively for a 2-0 or 3-0 series win.
India is currently occupying second position in the ICC Test Championship, followed by third-ranked South Africa and fourth-ranked Australia. However, there will be changes in the table when it is updated after the fourth and last Test between Australia and India in Adelaide. In the scenario of Australia winning 3-1 and Pakistan winning 3-0, both the sides will be locked on 108 ratings points, but Michael Clarke's men will be ranked above Misbah's side by a fraction of a point.