Windies to lie eighth at Christmas

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (CMC):

Embattled West Indies will spend Christmas at number eight in the ICC Test team rankings.

In the most recent rankings released yesterday, the Caribbean side were still languishing on 69 ratings points in the nether regions of the tables - a position they have occupied for most of the year.

They are only four points clear of minnows Bangladesh in ninth.

The year was another dire one for West Indies as they won just one of their eight Tests, while suffering four defeats and four draws.

They went down 2-0 in a four-Test home series against India and lost 2-1 to Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates.

The other game was the drawn third Test against Australia in Sydney - a series West Indies lost 2-0.

Once the dominant side in the game's longest format, West Indies have struggled badly over the last two decades and their last success over a major Test-playing nation came when they defeated England 1-0 in a five-match series seven years ago in the Caribbean.

In yesterday's rankings, India stormed to 120 points following their crushing innings victory over England in Chennai, guaranteeing themselves top spot at the end of the year.

They are 15 points clear of Australia, with Pakistan third on 102 points and South Africa fourth on 102 points. England, who started the series against India tied for second, have slipped to fifth after losing the five-match series 4-0.