Australia have slipped to No.3 in the World Test Championship (WTC) points table after losing their away Test series against South Africa 2-1. After losing the series decider in Cape Town, Australia also lost their No.1 ranking in Test cricket to South Africa.
Temba Bavuma's team moved up to No.2 on the WTC table, with New Zealand occupying the top spot. India are fourth on the table and have a chance to improve their standing when they face New Zealand in a two-match Test series in November-December.
Australia's next Test assignment is also New Zealand: a four-match series at home, which will begin with the first Test at Perth on December 9.
As for South Africa, they have two-week break before they host Bangladesh for a two-match Test series in November. They are the defending world champions, having clinched the WTC title at Lord's last year. South Africa have 71.43 percentage points in comparison to Australia's 69.23. Before the start of their Test series in South Africa, Australia had 80 percentage points.
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"That [No.1 ranking] is exceptional. I think that's obviously been a part of our ambition as a team," Bavuma said. "We're trying to push that standard as high as we can. With this opportunity that we have, we want to leave the Proteas badge in a better place. So we'll definitely celebrate that milestone as a team.
"Every time you get an opportunity to come up against Australia, you savour that. I don't think I've been involved in a better series. So yeah, this is definitely there at No.1 [best Test win]."
New Zealand are on top with 72.22 percentage points while India have 51.52.