Captain sets target of No 1 spot in world Test rankings

England under Ben Stokes have never lacked ambition, but they go into a defining period of Test cricket with one in particular in mind: to become the first England side in 15 years to take top spot in the International Cricket Council's rankings - officially the best in the world.

- Simon Burnton

"If we win what we've got coming up, the likelihood is that we will be at the top of that leaderboard," Stokes said. "There's no doubt in my mind we have the ability to be that team."

The ICC's latest annual update placed England at No 2, behind Australia, with five-match series against India this summer and the Australians in the winter to follow the one-off game against Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge that starts today.

England last took the No 1 ranking in August 2011, on their way to beating India 4-0 at home, before losing it against South Africa the following summer. When Stokes took over from Joe Root in 2022, the team had slumped to sixth and their lowest points tally in 27 years, but have since won 22 of their past 35 matches. The possibility of repeating that feat has been discussed by Stokes, the coach Brendon McCullum, and the England and Wales Cricket Board's managing director of men's cricket, Rob Key.