Aussies close in on top Test ranking

The No.1 spot on the ICC Test Championship rankings is tantalisingly close for the Australians, after South Africa were dethroned by India following the Proteas' third Test thrashing at the hands of England.

Virat Kohli's side was the surprising beneficiary of the big result in Johannesburg, their 110 points now enough to put them at the apex of the Test rankings.

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With Alastair Cook's team taking an unassailable two-nil series lead following their crushing victory at The Wanderers, the ICC Rankings Predictor indicates that the highest number of rankings points South Africa can finish the four-match series on is 109 – one point behind India, who have not played a Test since early December.

Finishing on 109 points would require the Proteas to win the fourth Test, while defeat in that match would see them also slip behind Australia (109), joining Pakistan on 106 rankings points.

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Such are the narrow margins between the top five teams (England are currently fifth on 104 points), a successful tour of New Zealand next month could see Steve Smith's side climb to the top of the pile.

For the men in Baggy Green, a series win of any sort – one-nil or two-nil across the two Tests – would be enough for them to jump ahead of India to first place.

Conversely, a two-nil series win for the Black Caps would push them to 104 rankings points and – if South Africa win or draw the fourth Test – into fifth position ahead of England.

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With the two-Test series in New Zealand scheduled to end on February 24, the timing could be perfect – and profitable – for Australia, with the Test championship mace awarded by the ICC annually on April 1.

Last year the Proteas were awarded US$500,000 as the world's top Test team, and in 2016 that prizemoney has doubled to US$1million.

The steady decline over that time of the South Africans has been acknowledged by their new captain, AB de Villiers.

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"Our form of late has been pretty poor and it'll take something special to turn it around," De Villiers said on Saturday.

"It's important for us to keep fighting and find that type of cricket that we're looking to play. But we're a little bit off-beat at the moment, that's for sure."

In their previous 13 completed Test innings since the start of the tour of Bangladesh in July last year, South Africa has amassed more than 300 just twice.

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In fact, they have failed to reach 200 in eight of those innings and recorded their two lowest scores since readmission to international cricket in 1991; 79 in India last November and 83 against England on Saturday.

"I think the talent is there ... it's just a matter of finding a bit of consistency and applying more pressure more often," De Villiers added.

"This is the team we have and this is the team I believe in. It's now up to the 11 that get picked (for the fourth Test) at SuperSport Park to turn things around and find something special."