The one-off England-Zimbabwe Test began on May 22 at Trent Bridge: here's what the ICC rankings looked like ahead of the clash.
The match in Nottingham is Zimbabwe's first Test in England since 2003. It's a four-day game, and isn't part of the World Test Championship, which Zimbabwe do not take part in – thus will not affect those standings.
One-off Test, England vs Zimbabwe
vs
- Ball by ball Over
England last played a Test match five months ago in New Zealand. Having already sealed a victory with a 2-0 lead in the three-match series, they lost the final game in Hamilton by 423 runs. This match precedes a marquee five-Test series against India for England this summer, with that series set to get underway next month.
For Zimbabwe, they're coming into the game off the back of a 1-1 series draw against Bangladesh. Their victory in the first match of that series was their first Test win in four years, built off the back of a six-for from Blessing Muzarabani.
Test team rankings: Australia at the top, England second
The ICC announced their yearly update to the Test rankings earlier this month, with Australia remaining in first place. The rankings are calculated differently to the World Test Championship standings, with the official Test rankings awarding points based on the outcome of every Test series played as well as factoring in the strength of the opposition. The WTC standings have a set number of points awarded for each Test match, regardless of the ranking of the opposition.
A case-in-point of this is England's Test ranking. They sit in second place in the ICC Test rankings, despite finishing fifth in the 2023/25 WTC cycle. Finalists South Africa sit below them in third, while India and New Zealand occupy fourth and fifth.
Updated ICC Test rankings ahead of ENG v ZIM
| Position | Team | Matches | Points | Rating |
| 1 | Australia | 25 | 3,139 | 126 |
| 2 | England | 33 | 3,716 | 113 |
| 3 | South Africa | 21 | 2,325 | 111 |
| 4 | India | 27 | 2,837 | 105 |
| 5 | New Zealand | 22 | 2,094 | 95 |
| 6 | Sri Lanka | 24 | 2,078 | 87 |
| 7 | Pakistan | 22 | 1,705 | 78 |
| 8 | West Indies | 22 | 1,613 | 73 |
| 9 | Bangladesh | 24 | 1,487 | 62 |
| 10 | Zimbabwe | 10 | 128 | 13 |
- Ireland need to play one more Test while Afghanistan need to play three more in the next 12 months to get a spot in the ICC Test team rankings.
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