The annual update released by ICC on Thursday confirms that England have concluded the season being the top-ranked team in ODIs, followed by India.
However, to enter the World Cup as the top-ranked team in ODIs, Eoin Morgan and his boys will have to win four out of the six matches that they are about to participate in against Ireland and Pakistan, with Ireland getting one match and Pakistan getting five.
In the yearly update published by ICC on Thursday (May 2), England were on 123 points, two points ahead of India who were in the second place. South Africa (115), New Zealand (113) and Australia (109) are behind them on the list. The latest ranking updates don’t take into account the results of the 2015-16 season, and the weightage of the 2016-17 and 2017-18 increases to 50 percent.
Eoin Morgan is particularly optimistic about his team’s performance in the World Cup.
“I think we’re in as strong a position as we could be at this stage,” he tells City A.M. “I think we’d be nervous if we were chasing a style of play or identity as a team, or looking for things that weren’t there.”
“But the fact that we’ve been on this journey now for four years, and played some good cricket along the way, particularly at home, gives us more of an element of excitement.”
