The Black Caps have moved ahead of Australia into third in the world Test rankings thanks to their historic series win over England yesterday as well as an embarrassing loss by the Baggy Greens in South Africa.
The Black Caps' draw yesterday gave them a 1-0 series win over England, but more importantly it gave them a chance to overtake their trans-Tasman rivals should Australia lose their series to South Africa, which they did overnight.
The dramatic series which has featured the ball tampering saga and tunnel clash between players wrapped up overnight with South Africa taking a 492 run win in the fourth and final Test.
The win meant South Africa took the series 3-1, seeing New Zealand move into third by the thinnest of margins, as they are now on 102.263 points and Australia are on 102.2 points.
As a result, the ICC confirmed overnight the Black Caps had swapped places on the world Test rankings with Australia and had earned a NZ$275,700 (US$200,000) bonus for finishing third on its year-end rankings.
India and South Africa are first and second respectively while England sits fifth.
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