Haroon Lorgat: England have deservedly achieved their goal to be crowned as the number one Test side in the world. ENGLAND captain Andrew Strauss and his team were presented with the ICC Test Mace by Haroon Lorgat, the ICC Chief Executive and Rod Riley, Executive Senior Vice President – Reliance Communications, after England completed their 4-0 series victory over India and in doing so confirmed their position as the number-one team in the Reliance ICC Test Rankings.
After England completed their victory by an innings and eight runs in front of a capacity crowd at The Oval in London, Haroon Lorgat congratulated the England and Wales Cricket Board and the England side.
He said: “I know England were determined to be number-one and through careful planning and a series of clinical performances, they have deservedly achieved their goal. They were clearly the most consistent side in the world over the past few years as evidenced by their determination to complete their series victory here at The Oval.
“This achievement is just reward for the hard work from all the players and team management  and the England and Wales Cricket Board and they no doubt will celebrate being on top of the world. It was a privilege to be here at The Oval to join a full house to watch another riveting day of Test match cricket.”
Andrew Strauss, the England captain, said: “We are delighted to be number one in the Reliance ICC Test Rankings and to have achieved that position with such a comprehensive series success. This has been a real team effort and everyone of the players, management and back up staff deserve great credit.
Becoming number one in the world was our stated ambition two and a half years ago and even though we have achieved that objective we will continue to look to build on this success.’
Sanjay Behl, Group Head – Brand & Marketing, Reliance Communications said: “Reliance congratulates the England cricket team on achieving the number-one ranking in the Reliance ICC Test Championship table.
“Skipper Andrew Strauss and his boys have demonstrated a hunger to succeed and tremendous consistency over the past two years in the toughest format of the game and have deservedly emerged as the best Test-playing team in the world.
“The England cricket team’s coronation as the world’s best Test team earns them the Reliance ICC Test Mace. The Test Mace is the symbol of their supremacy in the Test match arena.
“We at Reliance wish the England team the very best for the games ahead. We also look forward to the next few months where the fight to be the number-one Test team intensifies with India, Sri Lanka and South Africa all playing series and looking to close the gap on England.”
England are only the fourth team after Australia, South Africa and India to achieve the number-one position on the Reliance ICC Test rankings table.
England had already sealed the number-one position after taking an unbeatable 3-0 at Edgbaston but victory in the fourth and final Test at The Oval not only strengthened their position at the top of the tree but also dropped India into third position on 117 ratings points, one behind second-placed South Africa.
The Championship table will now be updated at the end of Sri Lanka and Australia series which starts on Wednesday August 31 in Galle.
Reliance ICC Test Championship table (as of August 22, after the conclusion of England and India four-Test series)
1.      England                     125
2.      South Africa               118
3.      India                          117
4.      Sri Lanka                   108
5.      Australia                    100
6.      Pakistan                      93
7.      West Indies                 89
8.      New Zealand                78
9.      Bangladesh                   8
(Zimbabwe will have to play eight Tests before they will have a ranking)
(Developed by David Kendix)