(REUTERS) – England need to beat India by two clear Tests in this summer’s four-match npower series to go top of the International Cricket Council rankings for the first time.
It has been a long-stated ambition of Andrew Strauss’ team to take their country to the top of the table, and having followed up last winter’s Ashes success with a 1-0 win over Sri Lanka, they discovered on Thursday they can usurp India in the forthcoming series.
To do so, they must beat Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s tourists at least 2-0 or 3-1 after four Tests which begin at Lord’s next week.
That first match is also the 2 000th Test in the history of the sport, the 100th between England and India, and provides master batsman Sachin Tendulkar with the opportunity to become the first to reach 100 international hundreds.
England are currently third in the Test table, behind leaders India and second-placed South Africa. But following the publication of the ICC’s annual rankings update, they know they will be top of the pile by three points if they can beat India by two matches or more this summer.
Should England scrap their way to victory just 1-0 or 2-1, they would be level with India – but the tourists would retain top spot by a fraction of a rating point.
ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat said: “As we all prepare to celebrate the staging of the 2 000th Test match, one cannot imagine it to be any better than between two of the top teams in a series that carries with it the battle for top spot in the rankings.
“That is great context, and we will enhance that with the ICC World Test Championship in future.”
That competition is scheduled to take place for the first time between the leading nations in England in 2013.
“Test cricket is the pinnacle form of the game, and we will continue to protect and promote it above all,” added Lorgat.