New Zealand have surged to the summit of the ICC Twenty20 rankings ©Getty Images

New Zealand have surged to the summit of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Twenty20 world rankings for the first time after they reached the semi-finals of the format’s flagship event in India last month.

The Black Caps were beaten in the last four of the ICC World Twenty20 by eventual runners-up England but have managed to climb to the top of the standings in the shortest form of the game on 132 points.

Kane Williamson’s side were given 12 points for their performance at the tournament and now hold a slender 0.21 point advantage over second-placed India.

Even though they won the competition, the West Indies, accused of bringing the sport into disrepute with their actions following their victory in the final against England, have slipped to third due to the fact that its results from the 2012-2013 season have been dropped from the calculations.

The Caribbean outfit also won the 2012 edition of the ICC World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka.

The West Indies have an advantage of three points ahead of South Africa, who endured a disappointing outing in India as they failed to reach the knockout phase.

The South African team occupy fourth position, five points in front of tournament runners-up England.

Australia, the reigning 50-over World Cup champions, have maintained their place at the top of the one-day international rankings on a score of 124 points.

World Cup holders Australia have held on to top spot in the one-day international rankings
World Cup holders Australia have held on to top spot in the one-day international rankings ©Getty Images

The total for the five-time winners of the World Cup comes despite them losing two points and they lead arch-rivals New Zealand, who co-hosted the 2015 tournament along with their rivals from across the Tasman Sea, by a commanding 11 points.

South Africa have moved down a place to third, while India, Sri Lanka and England are fourth, fifth and sixth respectively.

The ranking cut-off point on September 30 next year is the next crucial milestone as the top seven teams, along with hosts England, will qualify directly for the 2019 World Cup.

The bottom four ranked sides will join the top teams from the ICC World Cricket League in the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2018 to fight for the two remaining positions.

The ICC had confirmed the updated list reflected their decision to drop results from 2012-2013.

Results from 2014-2015 have been reduced to a weighting of 50 per cent.