Pakistan loses ground in LG ICC Test Championship table

Pakistan's 1-0 series loss to South Africa, confirmed thanks to the drawn Test in Lahore on Friday, has seen it drop one place in the latest LG ICC Test Championship table.

The defeat has cost Shoaib Malik's side three rating points and that has been enough to drop it below New Zealand and into seventh place in the updated ladder.

Pakistan had previously been on the same mark as the Black Caps - 99 points - but occupied the higher placing when the ratings were calculated to three decimal places.

Now, however, it trails New Zealand, although it is still well clear of the side directly below it, the West Indies, which lies eighth.

Pakistan's first chance to reverse its slide down the table - it occupied third position earlier this year - will come when it travels to India for three Tests as well as five ODIs in November and December, but India will have an incentive of its own to do well.

That is because South Africa's latest success on the sub-continent has seen it close the gap on the sides above it in the LG ICC Test Championship table and one of those sides is India.

South Africa's series win, which was due to a 160-run victory over the home side in the first Test in Karachi followed by the drawn match in Lahore, has seen it gain three ratings points.

And that means Graeme Smith's side is now just two points behind both third-placed India and Sri Lanka, like India on 107 rating points but placed fourth when those ratings are calculated to three decimal places.

South Africa's next opportunity to pile the pressure on those sides above it will come when it hosts New Zealand in a two-match series in November.

Australia still leads the table, 30 rating points ahead of second-placed England.

The latest LG ICC Player Rankings for Test matches are expected to be available for release on Saturday.