The Proteas have plummeted to their joint-lowest ranking in Test cricket history on Thursday by where the drop to 7th on ICC rankings.

South Africa have slipped to No 7 after the latest ICC rankings update. They have been overtaken by the West Indies, who have jumped up two places. The Proteas have won just two of their last seven Test series since 2018.

During this tumultuous period they have changed coaches three times – Ottis Gibson, Enoch Nkwe and Mark Boucher – and also been led by Faf du Plessis and Quinton de Kock.

There has been a further change to the leadership with Dean Elgar now appointed Test captain with his first assignment being the two-match series against the Windies in the Caribbean next month.

“My perspective is that this is a crucial period for the players and management. We tapped into 32 players who’ve played this season, 45 were kitted out,” Cricket SA Director of Cricket Graeme Smith said.

“It was a bit of an exploration period for the national team to try and identify players going forward, but I do see this next period, from a results perspective, as being crucial.”

Meanwhile, the World Test Championship finalists India and New Zealand retained the top two places, while England overtook Australia for the third spot.

India, who have an aggregate of 121 rating points, are only one point ahead of the Black Caps. The two teams will go head-to-head in the inaugural World Test Championship final on June 18 at Southampton’s Rose Bowl.

Currently, only Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe are below the Proteas. Ireland and Afghanistan are yet to play enough Tests to figure on the rankings table.