South Africa’s 2-0 series win in New Zealand propelled them to the No 1 ODI ranking for the first time in five years.

The Proteas entered the series one ratings point behind Australia, and although the third ODI was washed out, the two victories in Mount Maunganui was enough to earn a return to the top spot. It’s been a long time between drinks, with the last time they reached the top occurring in September 2009.

The side’s next assignment will be a five-match ODI series in Australia, where they will have the opportunity to put some daylight between themselves and the second placed Australians who are currently just one ratings point adrift. It’s a similar story in the Test arena, with Australia’s loss in the first Test against Pakistan ensuring South Africa’s place at the summit of the Test rankings.

Meanwhile, the release of the player rankings also produced good new for the South Africans. AB de Villiers has retained his status as the world’s best batsman in the 50 over format, while Hashim Amla has moved up one position to occupy second. Quinton de Kock is the only other South African in the top 10, moving up two spots to number seven.

Dale Steyn has retained his third place in the bowling rankings on the back of two solid performances. The next best South African is Ryan McLaren who dropped from ninth to 12^th.

Here is the official ICC Team Rankings:

	Team	Points
1	South Africa	115
2	Australia	114
3	India	113
4	Sri Lanka	111
5	England	107
6	Pakistan	98
7	New Zealand	96
8	West Indies	96
9	Bangladesh	69
10	Zimbabwe	58
11	Afghanistan	42
12	Zimbabwe	33

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