Historical Rankings
The ICC provides ratings for the end of each month back to June 2003. The teams that have successively held the highest rating since that date, by whole month periods, are:
| Team | Start | End | Total Months | Highest Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | June 2003 | August 2009 | 74 | 143 |
| South Africa | August 2009 | November 2009 | 3 | 122 |
| India | November 2009 | August 2011 | 21 | 130 |
| England | August 2011 | August 2012 | 12 | 125 |
| South Africa | August 2012 | present | 3 | 120 |
Since the ICC officially began ranking teams in 2003, Australia has dominated as it had done so in Test cricket since around 1995. However from 2009, several teams (Australia, South Africa, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and England) have competed for the top positions.
The ICC recently applied its current rating system to results since 1952 providing ratings for the end of each month back to 1952 further indicating Australia's historical dominance in Test Cricket with the most consecutive months ranked first (95) from September 2001 to July 2009, the highest number of months ranked first (317) and the highest rating (143). The table only begins from 1952 as prior to this date, there is not enough data available due to the infrequency of matches and the small number of competing teams in the earlier periods.
The teams that have successively held the highest rating since January 1952 till May 2003, by whole month periods, are:
| Team | Start | End | Total Months | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | January 1952 | May 1955 | 41 | |
| England | June 1955 | February 1958 | 33 | |
| Australia | March 1958 | July 1958 | 5 | |
| England | August 1958 | December 1958 | 5 | |
| Australia | January 1959 | December 1963 | 60 | |
| West Indies | January 1964 | December 1968 | 60 | |
| South Africa | January 1969 | December 1969 | 12 | |
| England | January 1970 | January 1973 | 37 | |
| Australia | February 1973 | March 1973 | 2 | |
| India | April 1973 | June 1974 | 15 | |
| Australia | July 1974 | January 1978 | 43 | |
| West Indies | February 1978 | January 1979 | 12 | |
| England | February 1979 | August 1980 | 19 | |
| India | September 1980 | February 1981 | 6 | |
| West Indies | March 1981 | July 1988 | 89 | |
| Pakistan | August 1988 | September 1988 | 2 | |
| West Indies | October 1988 | January 1991 | 28 | |
| Australia | February 1991 | April 1991 | 3 | |
| West Indies | May 1991 | July 1992 | 15 | |
| Australia | August 1992 | January 1993 | 6 | |
| West Indies | February 1993 | August 1995 | 31 | |
| India | September 1995 | November 1995 | 3 | |
| Australia | December 1995 | July 1999 | 44 | |
| South Africa | August 1999 | December 1999 | 5 | |
| Australia | January 2000 | February 2000 | 2 | |
| South Africa | March 2000 | March 2000 | 1 | |
| Australia | April 2000 | July 2001 | 16 | |
| South Africa | August 2001 | August 2001 | 1 | |
| Australia | September 2001 | May 2003 | 21 | |
The summary of teams that have held the highest rating since 1952 till present by whole month periods, are:
| Team | Total Months | Highest Rating | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | 317 | 143 | ||
| West Indies | 235 | 135 | ||
| England | 106 | 125 | ||
| India | 45 | 130 | ||
| South Africa | 25 | 122 | ||
| Pakistan | 2 | 110 | ||
Read more about this topic: ICC Test Championship
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