Bangladesh will be eying the opportunity to consolidate its position in the MRF Tyres ICC ODI Team Rankings when it takes on New Zealand in an upcoming three-match series starting in Christchurch on Monday.
Bangladesh can stretch its lead over Pakistan and the West Indies with a series win and it only needs to avoid being blanked 3-0 so as not to drop points in the team rankings which will determine the automatic qualifiers for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019.
Bangladesh is currently ranked seventh with 95 points, ahead of Pakistan (89) and the West Indies (87) as teams look to garner important points since host England and seven other highest-ranked sides as on 30 September 2017 will qualify directly for the ICC’s pinnacle 50-over tournament.
New Zealand, which lost 3-0 to Australia in the recent Chappell-Hadlee series, will drop one place in the rankings with a series loss by any margin while Bangladesh will remain in seventh position irrespective of any result.
Possible scenarios: · If New Zealand wins 3-0: New Zealand 111 points; Bangladesh 91 points · If New Zealand wins 2-1: New Zealand 109 points, Bangladesh 95 points · If Bangladesh wins 3-0: New Zealand 105 points, Bangladesh 100 points · If Bangladesh wins 2-1: New Zealand 107 points (behind England on decimal points), Bangladesh 97 points
