Australia are verging on the No.1 ranking, Richard Hinds questions their position

WITH Australia on the verge of the No.1 Test ranking, there’s still a long way to go before Steve Smith’s men are genuinely considered the best team in the world writes Richard Hinds.

CHRISTCHURCH, NEW ZEALAND - FEBRUARY 21: Steve Smith of Australia is congratulated by Joe Burns of Australia after reaching his century during day two of the Test match between New Zealand and Australia at Hagley Oval on February 21, 2016 in Christchurch, New Zealand. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

I don’t know how to change the ribbon in my laptop. Until recently I thought algorithms were used by Catholic couples who didn’t want any more children.

But before Australia left for New Zealand it seemed inconceivable even to us Luddites who still use eyewitness account and gut instinct to inform our opinions that the ICC computer could bestow the No. 1 Test ranking on the tourists.

Hadn’t England won the Ashes convincingly then performed the still difficult task of beating South Africa in South Africa? On exposed form Stuart Broad alone deserves a higher ranking that at least three Test playing nations.

New Zealand’s Brendon McCullum bats in his last innings for his team.

Australia? Since the Ashes disintegration it had avoided a potentially tricky tour of Bangladesh because of the political climate, beaten the Kiwis on home pitches flatter than a sumo’s mattress and inflicted the now ritual humiliation of the West Indies.

Yet somehow — perhaps the guy who designed the Super Rugby finals format moonlights with the ICC? — after Cyclone McCullum again passed through Christchurch on day three of the second Test without causing further damage, the No. 1 ranking was Australia’s to lose.

Which begs the obvious question: Assuming Australia mops up the Kiwis, will the No. 1 ranked Test nation be the best? Surely everyone but the computer says no.

Beating a very decent Kiwi team at home is a credible achievement. Particularly when the curators in Auckland and Christchurch got the wrong email and prepared for the world snooker championships.

But after Steve Smith twice inserted the Kiwis on emerald decks, a nagging question lingered. Had the demons of Trent Bridge been exorcised?

Australia are on the verge of claiming the No.1 Test rank

Should they endure, it would be unfair to say Australia beat New Zealand merely on two flips of the coin. McCullum’s breathtaking first innings century ensured the Australian batsman had to dig deep, as they might yet have to do again in the second innings.

Yet while the Australians have proven this summer they are capable of ruthlessly exploiting any advantage over weaker opposition, only the most literal-minded, stats-bound observer would claim the Australians have truly established themselves as the world’s best.

The late-blooming Adam Voges is emblematic of Australia’s bumper summer harvest. Voges has now scored 1267 in 14 Tests at a Bradmanesque 97.46. Yet since the Ashes you feel like the West Australian is acing his mock-exams, not the real thing.

Captain Steve Smith and combative coach Darren Lehman’s post-series view of the team’s status will be informative.

I once commenced an interview with Greg Norman, who had recently blown a big lead in one major and been humiliated by Nick Faldo in another, by asking if he felt his word No. 1 ranking was still justified. The Shark, who never betrayed any public symptoms of low self-esteem, threatened to hang up.

Josh Hazlewood has played a major role in Australia’s return to the top

The Australians, you hope, would not consider the No. 1 ranking proof of global ascendancy. Rather, they should allow for the system’s vagaries and the current flux in Test cricket — India doesn’t travel well, South Africa is rebuilding, England must win here — while congratulating themselves on a summer in which they achieved their KPIs.

To Australia’s credit, they have taken wickets without their best strike weapon Mitchell Starc, who it’s hoped will form a potent partnership with Josh Hazlewood and James Pattinson. Usman Khawaja has joined Steven Smith and David Warner in the elite class. Importantly, the team is rowing in the same direction even as Smith learns the coxswain’s trade.

Smith had his worst day as captain in the face of McCullum’s brutality. The skipper seemed caught between the idea the pitch would do the bowlers work for them and the need to improvise and adapt. But he dusted himself off, made a very tough century and proved again extra responsibility is not diminishing his personal contribution.

As the start of a long summer, it seemed farfetched to think even the computer would rate the Australians as No.1. Now you can at least imagine a time when that rating would be justified.

Originally published as Australia are verging on the No.1 ranking, Richard Hinds questions their position