KEY POINTS:
South Africa has maintained pressure on Australia at top of International Cricket Council one-day championship rankings following their completion of a 3-2 series win over Pakistan today.
Graeme Smith's side is now just five rating points behind the world champions and, with a three-match home series to come against third-placed New Zealand in December, there is a chance for the Proteas to close that gap still further.
Pakistan lies fourth in the table but its hold on that position following back-to-back losses in Multan and Lahore is now extremely tenuous.
Shoaib Malik's line-up is ahead of India, in fifth position, only when the ratings are calculated to three decimal places - and with the two sides set to face up to each other in five ODIs in early November then there is plenty of scope for things to change over the coming weeks.
ICC one-day rankings (points):
Australia 128
South Africa 123
NEW ZEALAND 114
Pakistan 109
India 109
Sri Lanka 108
England 107
West Indies 102
Bangladesh 48
Ireland 28
Zimbabwe 17
Kenya 0
- NZPA
