The 2017–18 international cricket season was from September 2017 to April 2018. 28 Test matches, 93 One Day Internationals (ODIs), and 44 Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) were played during this period. Out of the 30 Test matches that were played four were day/night matches. The day/night Test match between South Africa and Zimbabwe was scheduled to last for only four days in duration, with the last such four-day Test match being played in 1973. The season started with India leading the Test cricket rankings, South Africa leading the ODI rankings, New Zealand leading the Twenty20 rankings, and England women leading the women's rankings. Additionally, the Laws of Cricket 2017 Code came into effect on 1 October 2017, superseding the 6th Edition of the 2000 Code of Laws, with many of the changes in the laws being incorporated into the ICC Standard Playing Conditions.
The season started with Australia's tour of India, which consisted of 5 ODIs and 3 T20Is. After this, 16 more bilateral series among the full member nations were scheduled for the remainder of the season. The most notable of these series was the 70th edition of The Ashes, which was held in Australia from November 2017 to January 2018. Other notable highlights included New Zealand beating England in a home Test series for the first since 1984 and South Africa beating Australia in a home Test series since 1970. Australia's tour of South Africa was also notable for the many disciplinary issues that occurred throughout, with the most serious of these incidents being a ball tampering scandal that resulted in Australian captain Steve Smith, vice captain David Warner, and Cameron Bancroft being suspended from international cricket for 12 months, 12 months, and 9 months respectively. In addition, the first two T20I Tri-Series (Trans-Tasman Tri-Series and the Nidahas Trophy) among Full Member nations ever were conducted.
The culmination of the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup qualification process occurred in this season. The start of this season marked the cut off date for direct qualification for the World Cup from the ICC ODI Championship. The top eight teams at the cut off date gained direct qualification to the World Cup while the bottom four teams (West Indies, Zimbabwe, Ireland, Afghanistan) went into the 2018 Cricket World Cup Qualifier. These four teams were joined by the top four teams of the World Cricket League Championship and the top two teams of the World Cricket League Division Two to make up the ten teams that played in the World Cup Qualifier.
The final two rounds (rounds 6 and 7) of the World Cricket League Championship concluded in this season, with the top 4 teams (Netherlands, Scotland, Papua New Guinea, Hong Kong) qualifying for the 2018 Cricket World Cup Qualifier. In addition, the Netherlands gained One Day International Status by winning the World Cricket League Championship and qualified for the 2020–23 ICC Cricket World Cup Super League. The bottom four teams (Kenya, Nepal, United Arab Emirates, Namibia) were relegated to World Cricket League Division Two for a chance to qualify for the final two spots of the World Cup Qualifier. These four teams were joined by Canada and Oman, the top two placed teams in the World Cricket League Division Three. The United Arab Emirates and Nepal finished in the top two and thus qualified for the World Cup Qualifier while Oman and Kenya finished in the bottom two and were relegated to Division Three. In the World Cup Qualifier, West Indies and Afghanistan were the top two finishers and thus qualified for the World Cup.
In addition, the Intercontinental Cup concluded during this season, with matches in rounds 6 and 7 played in this period. Afghanistan won the tournament after finishing at the top of the table with the most points.
Finally, the qualification process for the 2020 ICC T20 World Cup got underway with the Americas Southern Sub Region Qualifier, which saw Bermuda and Cayman Islands qualify for the Americas Regional Qualifier. The Asia Western Sub Region Qualifier was also conducted, with the UAE, Qatar, and Kuwait qualifying for the Asia Regional Qualifier. The Africa North-Western Sub Region Qualifier saw Ghana and Nigeria qualify for the Africa Region Qualifier.
Season overview Men's international tours Start date Home team Away team Results [Matches] Test ODI T20I FC LA — 4–1 1–1 — — — — — — 2–1 0–2 5–0 3–0 — — 2–0 3–0 2–0 — — — 1–1 — 0–0 — — — — — 1–1 — — — — 1–0 — — — 0–1 — 0–1 — — — — — 2–1 2–1 — — 1–0 2–1 3–0 — — 4–0 1–4 — — — — 2–0 — — — — 2–0 — 1–0 — — — — 0–1 — — — — 0–1 0–2 — — — 1–0 — 2–0 3–0 2–0 — — — 1–2 — — — — — — — 0–2 — — — — 2–0 1–0 — — — — 2–1 1–5 1–2 — — — 5–0 1–2 — — 0–1 — 0–2 — — — 4–1 2–0 — — 1–0 2–3 — — — 3–1 — — — — — — 3–0 — — Men's international tournaments Start date Tournament Winners 2017–18 United Arab Emirates Tri-Nation Series 2018 Under-19 Cricket World Cup 2017–18 Bangladesh Tri-Nation Series 2017–18 Trans-Tasman Tri-Series 2018 ICC World Cricket League Division Two 2018 Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2018 Nidahas Trophy
Women's international tours Start date Home team Away team Results [Matches] WTest WODI WT20I — 3–0 3–0 0–0 2–1 1–2 — 1–2 0–4 — 1–2 1–3 — 3–0 4–0 — 0–3 — — 0–3 1–2 — 2–1 — Women's international tournaments Start date Tournament Winners 2017–18 India women's Tri-Nation Series
Rankings
The following are the rankings at the beginning of the season:
ICC Test Championship 26 September 2017 Rank Team Matches Points Rating 1 36 4493 125 2 31 3395 110 3 43 4497 105 4 32 3114 97 5 34 3294 97 6 31 2868 93 7 36 3229 90 8 30 2260 75 9 20 1471 74 10 10 0 0
ICC ODI Championship 10 September 2017 Rank Team Matches Points Rating 1 50 5957 119 2 47 5505 117 3 45 5266 117 4 50 5645 113 5 46 5123 111 6 41 3885 95 7 31 2905 94 8 59 5088 86 9 36 2824 78 10 30 1618 54 11 41 2129 52 12 25 1028 41
ICC T20I Championship 18 September 2017 Rank Team Matches Points Rating 1 13 1625 125 2 20 2417 121 3 20 2395 120 4 17 2029 119 5 20 2328 116 6 18 1983 110 7 13 1431 110 8 21 1961 93 9 25 2157 86 10 15 1168 78 11 11 737 67 12 13 842 65 13 16 827 52 14 9 441 49 15 13 599 46 16 6 235 39 17 9 345 38 18 15 534 36
ICC Women's Rankings 3 October 2017 Rank Team Matches Points Rating 1 34 4368 128 2 40 5137 128 3 43 5053 118 4 45 5216 116 5 35 3544 101 6 55 5112 93 7 39 2801 72 8 40 2696 67 9 19 704 37 10 17 504 30
September
Australia in India
ODI series No. Date Home captain Away captain Venue Result ODI 3910 17 September Virat Kohli Steve Smith M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai by 26 runs (DLS) ODI 3912 21 September Virat Kohli Steve Smith Eden Gardens, Kolkata by 50 runs ODI 3914 24 September Virat Kohli Steve Smith Holkar Stadium, Indore by 5 wickets ODI 3917 28 September Virat Kohli Steve Smith M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore by 21 runs ODI 3919 1 October Virat Kohli Steve Smith Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Nagpur by 7 wicketsT20I series No. Date Home captain Away captain Venue Result T20I 623 7 October Virat Kohli David Warner JSCA International Stadium Complex, Ranchi by 9 wickets (DLS) T20I 624 10 October Virat Kohli David Warner Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati by 8 wickets T20I 624a 13 October Virat Kohli David Warner Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad Match abandoned
Netherlands in Zimbabwe
List A series No. Date Home captain Away captain Venue Result 1st List A 27 September Graeme Cremer Peter Borren Harare Sports Club, Harare by 93 runs 2nd List A 29 September Craig Ervine Peter Borren Harare Sports Club, Harare by 9 wickets 3rd List A 1 October Sikandar Raza Peter Borren Harare Sports Club, Harare by 5 wickets
Sri Lanka vs Pakistan in United Arab Emirates
Test series No. Date Home captain Away captain Venue Result Test 2275 28 September–2 October Sarfaraz Ahmed Dinesh Chandimal Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi by 21 runs Test 2278 6–10 October Sarfaraz Ahmed Dinesh Chandimal Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai by 68 runsODI series No. Date Home captain Away captain Venue Result ODI 3922 13 October Sarfaraz Ahmed Upul Tharanga Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai by 83 runs ODI 3924 16 October Sarfaraz Ahmed Upul Tharanga Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi by 32 runs ODI 3926 18 October Sarfaraz Ahmed Upul Tharanga Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi by 7 wickets ODI 3927 20 October Sarfaraz Ahmed Upul Tharanga Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah by 7 wickets ODI 3930 23 October Sarfaraz Ahmed Upul Tharanga Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah by 9 wicketsT20I series No. Date Home captain Away captain Venue Result T20I 625 26 October Sarfaraz Ahmed Thisara Perera Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi by 7 wickets T20I 627 27 October Sarfaraz Ahmed Thisara Perera Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi by 2 wickets T20I 629 29 October Sarfaraz Ahmed Thisara Perera Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore by 36 runs
Bangladesh in South Africa
Test series No. Date Home captain Away captain Venue Result Test 2276 28 September–2 October Faf du Plessis Mushfiqur Rahim Senwes Park, Potchefstroom by 333 runs Test 2277 6–10 October Faf du Plessis Mushfiqur Rahim Mangaung Oval, Bloemfontein by an innings and 254 runsODI series No. Date Home captain Away captain Venue Result ODI 3923 15 October Faf du Plessis Mashrafe Mortaza De Beers Diamond Oval, Kimberley by 10 wickets ODI 3925 18 October Faf du Plessis Mashrafe Mortaza Boland Bank Park, Paarl by 104 runs ODI 3929 22 October Faf du Plessis Mashrafe Mortaza Buffalo Park, East London by 200 runsT20I series No. Date Home captain Away captain Venue Result T20I 626 26 October JP Duminy Shakib Al Hasan Mangaung Oval, Bloemfontein by 20 runs T20I 628 29 October JP Duminy Shakib Al Hasan Senwes Park, Potchefstroom by 83 runs
October
Scotland in Papua New Guinea 2015–17 ICC Intercontinental Cup – FC series No. Date Home captain Away captain Venue Result First-class 1–4 October Assad Vala Kyle Coetzer Amini Park, Port Moresby Match drawn2015–17 ICC World Cricket League Championship – ODI series No. Date Home captain Away captain Venue Result ODI 3920 6 October Assad Vala Kyle Coetzer Amini Park, Port Moresby by 101 runs ODI 3921 8 October Assad Vala Kyle Coetzer Amini Park, Port Moresby by 5 wickets
Netherlands vs Kenya in South Africa 2015–17 ICC World Cricket League Championship – List A series No. Date Home captain Away captain Venue Result 1st List A 6 October Rakep Patel Peter Borren Buffalo Park, East London by 6 wickets 2nd List A 8 October Rakep Patel Peter Borren Buffalo Park, East London by 2 wickets
Sri Lanka women in West Indies
2017–20 ICC Women's Championship – WODI series No. Date Home captain Away captain Venue Result WODI 1086 11 October Stafanie Taylor Inoka Ranaweera Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Trinidad by 6 wickets WODI 1087 13 October Stafanie Taylor Inoka Ranaweera Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Trinidad by 7 wickets WODI 1088 15 October Stafanie Taylor Inoka Ranaweera Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Trinidad by 40 runsWT20I series No. Date Home captain Away captain Venue Result WT20I 384 19 October Stafanie Taylor Inoka Ranaweera Coolidge Cricket Ground, Antigua by 71 runs WT20I 385 21 October Stafanie Taylor Inoka Ranaweera Coolidge Cricket Ground, Antigua by 47 runs WT20I 386 22 October Stafanie Taylor Inoka Ranaweera Coolidge Cricket Ground, Antigua by 31 runs
Nepal in Hong Kong 2015–17 ICC World Cricket League Championship – List A series No. Date Home captain Away captain Venue Result 1st List A 13 October Babar Hayat Paras Khadka Mission Road Ground, Mong Kok by 83 runs 2nd List A 15–16 October Babar Hayat Paras Khadka Mission Road Ground, Mong Kok Match abandoned
Afghanistan in Hong Kong 2015–17 ICC Intercontinental Cup – FC series No. Date Home captain Away captain Venue Result First-class 20–23 October Babar Hayat Asghar Stanikzai Mission Road Ground, Mong Kok by an innings and 173 runs
West Indies in Zimbabwe