Australia sealed a second win over SA in Cape Town

But the prospect of Pollock's men stealing number one spot could become reality as soon as October.

If South Africa repeat their 2-0 beating of Sri Lanka, and Australia fail to repeat the 1-0 verdict achieved by Mark Taylor's side in Pakistan in 1998/99, the ICC trophy will pass to Pollock.

The possibility seems ludicrous, and several critics have pointed out these flaws as proof that the system is farcical.

But in fact they are a fair reflection of the two sides' performances against the rest of the Test world in the last five years.

Just comparison

The ICC rankings, developed originally by former Wisden editor Matthew Engel, strove to find an accurate way to compare all sides without looking simply at recent form.

With each Test series lasting as long as three months, there is no way that sides can play on a regular basis but, by comparing common opponents, a consensus can be arrived at.

New Zealand almost upset their hosts in November

New Zealand almost took advantage of Australian arrogance at the beginning of this season, when they came within 10 runs of winning the first Test in Brisbane after a generous declaration.

With the following two Tests resulting in draws, the Black Caps could easily have headed home with a 1-0 verdict, and the Clash of the Titans would have instead seen Australia looking to regain top spot.

In contrast, only a rain-ruined third match prevented an injury-hit New Zealand team from being blanked in a three-match series in South Africa just over a year ago.

And the results of the two sides in India, that most intimidating of touring venues, lend even more credence to South Africa's claims.

India failure

Forgotten amongst the match-fixing furore that followed Hansie Cronje's side in the sub-continent in early 2000 was the result of the Test series.

A 2-0 verdict made South Africa the first side in 13 years to win a series in India, and they won in style, with an innings defeat of the hosts in the second Test of the short series.

South Africa beat India in India

And, even though they arrived in India a year later with a world record winning streak still intact, Australia could not repeat those feats in a thrilling series, won 2-1 by the hosts.

Perhaps there are adjustments that could be made to the ICC system, although none are forthcoming at the moment.

Weight could be added to individual Test matches won, rather than the current method of giving two points for a series win and one for a tied contest.

But, despite the apparent complexities, as some Test sides have yet to face each other, this remains one of the simplest and most effective methods of confirming the world's best side.

Steve Waugh retains the sceptre-like trophy at least until the year's end and, if his side continues his dominance, he need not worry about giving it up, no matter how close the pretenders appear to be.