Australia slip to third in ODI rankings

CHENNAI, India, (Reuters) – World champions  Australia slipped to third place in the one-day rankings yesterday, their lowest since the International Cricket Council  (ICC) introduced ratings in October 2002. 

On Monday Australia collapsed to their seventh defeat in  nine matches against top-ranked South Africa this year and now  lie third in the rankings behind India. 
 
However, Australia will climb back to second if they win the  last match in Johannesburg tomorrow.  

South Africa won Monday’s fourth game by 61 runs to clinch  the five-match series 3-1 with a match to spare.  

Australia held the top spot for all but 10 months of the  duration, including 52 straight months from October 2002 to  January 2007, ICC said in a statement.