Aussies hoping to avoid four-year low

Australia won't be among the top-four ranked Test nations in the world for the first time in more than four years if they fail to win their upcoming two-Test series against Bangladesh.

The International Cricket Council confirmed on Sunday that Australia could slip to as low as sixth on the Test charts if they lose both matches on their first Test tour of the South Asian nation in more than a decade.

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Currently sitting fourth on the ICC's Test charts, Australia's only chance of moving above third-placed England is to notch a series win over Bangladesh and hope their Ashes rivals lose the second and third Tests against West Indies.

But with England recording an innings-and-209-run trouncing over the Windies at Edgbaston last week, it appears certain Australia will be the lower-ranked side going the summer's Ashes series regardless of how they fare on the subcontinent.

Even if the final two matches of the England-Windies series are washed out and Australia beat Bangladesh 2-0, Joe Root's side will retain third spot.

Steve Smith's men will slide to fifth and fall below New Zealand if they draw or lose their series 0-1 to Bangladesh, while a 0-2 sweep to the hosts would see the Aussies slip to sixth and be overtaken by Pakistan as well.

Even a 0-0 series result in Bangladesh, which is not out of the question given the series will be played at the tail end of monsoon season, would see the Aussies drop to fifth.

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Bangladesh could move up to eighth in the rankings if they win just one Test and the Windies lose 0-3 to England.

Australia haven't fallen lower than fourth in the Test rankings since their series whitewash at the hands of India in 2013, which was eventually followed by Lehmann's elevation to coach in place of Mickey Arthur.

But they quickly bounced back to the summit of world cricket after their 2013-14 Ashes whitewash at home and ensuing away series win in South Africa.

Australia came close to falling out of the top four last summer after their fifth consecutive Test defeat in Hobart to the Proteas last November. But victory in the dead-rubber day-night Test spurred a climb back up the rankings and they took on top dogs India as the world No.2 earlier this year.

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Captain Steve Smith, who received the ICC Test mace for ascending to the No.1 spot for the first time in his tenure after Australia's series in New Zealand last year, said he isn't giving the rankings much thought in Bangladesh.

"I'm not too worried about the rankings, I'm not really thinking about that at the moment," Smith said on Saturday.

"For me, it's about ensuring our processes are right throughout this series.

"It is going to be a challenging series for this group, Bangladesh have been playing some very good cricket here.

"I see it as a great opportunity for us to try and learn from what we did from India, and put some good performances on the board against a good Bangladesh outfit."

AUSTRALIA'S RANKINGS SCENERIOS
(assuming England don't lose a Test to West Indies)

• Win 2-0 - 4th
• Win 1-0 - 4th
• Draw 0-0 - 5th
• Draw 1-1 - 5th
• Lose 1-0 - 5th
• Lose 2-0 - 6th

Australia in Bangladesh 2017

Australia squad: Steve Smith (c), David Warner (vc), Ashton Agar, Jackson Bird, Hilton Cartwright, Pat Cummins, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, Matthew Renshaw, Mitchell Swepson, Matthew Wade.

Bangladesh squad: Mushfiqur Rahim (c), Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Imrul Kayes, Shakib Al Hasan, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Sabbir Rahman, Nasir Hossain, Liton Das, Taskin Ahmed, Shafiul Islam, Mustafizur Rahman, Taijul Islam, Mominul Haque.

22-23 August Tour match, TBC

27-31 August First Test, Dhaka

4-8 September Second Test, Chittagong