Dubai, March 20 The standings have been finalised for the 2021-23 ICC World Test Championship period, with June's final at The Oval between Australia and India the only match remaining.
The current ICC World Test Championship period came to an end, following the completion of the second Test between New Zealand and Sri Lanka on Monday in Wellington.
Sri Lanka finally showed some fight on the fourth day of the second Test, but skipper Tim Southee (3/51) got the final breakthrough to ensure New Zealand clinched a comfortable innings and 58-run victory over Dimuth Karunaratne's side.
The triumph helped New Zealand jump from eighth to sixth on the World Test Championship standings, with Pakistan and West Indies each dropping a place following the final Test of the period.
There is of course still the World Test Championship final ahead, with Australia and India scheduled to do battle in the one-off Test at The Oval in London at the start of June after they finished in the top two positions on the standings.
South Africa finished in third place and narrowly behind India in second, while England rose to third and in front of Sri Lanka following the Asian nation's 2-0 series loss to New Zealand.
Sri Lanka could have qualified for the final with a 2-0 series sweep over New Zealand, but a narrow loss in the first match of the series and a disappointing effort in the second Test saw them drop to fifth on the standings.
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