David Leggat: ICC's latest rankings give transtasman rivals a reason to celebrate

It has been a good week for cricket's transtasman rivals.

Almost buried beneath the blizzard that is the Donald Sterling-racism-NBA storm, and at a time when Super Rugby and the Kiwis are the big headline grabbers, both New Zealand and Australia will feel some satisfaction at the outcomes of the International Cricket Council's latest rankings.

Make what you like of rankings, but the upshot is that the Aussies are back where they feel they belong, top of the test world.

New Zealand, who were languishing deep in the bottom half of the table not so long ago, now sit sixth, just a spot behind India, who have fallen like a stone.

In New Zealand's case, clearly the home victories over the West Indies and, especially, India, in the recent summer did wonders both for morale and self belief, but also their standing. They're off to the Caribbean on May 24. Tests and ODIs beckon.

Last time New Zealand were there, two years ago, they were trodden on. Chris Gayle, Marlon Samuels and Kieran Powell belted them about; and the batsmen couldn't figure Sunil Narine's baffling spin.

Now the likes of Trent Boult, Kane Williamson and Tim Southee are two years more experienced and just as importantly have banked plenty of personal achievement on which to lean.

This is no time to drop their bundle, even if the world T20 ended in bitter disappointment in March.

Sixth is a move in the right direction. Indeed there are just 12 points between third-placed England and New Zealand.

They have tests against Pakistan in the UAE, a tough job for the best teams; before entertaining Sri Lanka ahead of February's World Cup.

In Corey Anderson and Jimmy Neesham they have young allrounders making encouraging progress - although about now Anderson must be silently praying for a bit of success with the hopeless Mumbai Indians in the IPL. Just 73 runs off 80 balls in five innings and three for 90 off eight overs isn't exactly what the wealthy franchise were expecting for their $866,000 layout.

Australia's captain Michael Clarke accompanied the return to No 1 - they also occupy top place in the ODI list, New Zealand sit seventh - with a bullish defence of his team's on-field modus operandi.

Noting Australia play hard ball, Clarke pulled out the old "we know there's a line you can't cross" line. The "Australian way", he added, was "to play tough, non-compromising cricket on the field". He added oddly that "you'll find we're very social off the field".

Longtime Australian cricket watchers will have heard that sort of thing from several past captains. But can a link be made between Australia's return to No 1 - for the first time since August 2009 - with Clarke's words, and by extension, defence and continued support for, the excesses of his players? If so, it's a depressing thought.

And how's this for a coincidence. In the week that the name Sterling is second only in recognition among Americans to his president, and giving him a decent run too, Australia's coach Darren Lehmann chose to apologise for his appalling racist comments to the Sri Lankan team in 2003.

Lehmann, known as Boof, gave the Sri Lankans a fierce spray after being run out in an international in Brisbane - "black xxxxx" in short. It was, he reflected this week, the biggest mistake of his life and from which he says he learned an important lesson. Sterling never learned it and at 80 he's unlikely to figure it out now.