Topping the Test rankings

England is on the verge of topping the Reliance ICC Test Rankings if it completes a series victory by two Test wins or more against India.

To understand the significance of this achievement, take a look at our guide to the history of the Reliance ICC Test Rankings, which were created by David Kendix in 2003, and take a look back at who would have been number one in the table.

How far back do the historical Test rankings go?

For the first 50 years, since the first Test Match was played in 1877, there were only three countries playing Test cricket, with South Africa clearly the weakest, so it was just a matter of whether England or Australia was stronger, which in turn meant seeing who had done better in the previous one or two series between them. Even after India, New Zealand and West Indies began playing Test cricket, pre-war they were still clearly weaker than the other three existing teams, so again it was only a matter of saying which of England and Australia was better. Also, the newer countries played so rarely as to render ratings for them of no real statistical relevance. There were then seven years without Test cricket, so when Tests resumed post-war, pre-war results had become largely irrelevant for rating purposes. It was only once all the countries had built up enough of a post-war track record that a set of rankings starts to look sensible from a statistical perspective.

When has England been ranked number one in the world (since the 1950s)?

1955-1958

1970-1973

1979-1980

Therefore if England defeats India by two Tests or more, this would be the first time England have been ranked number one for more than thirty years.

How many times has the number one position in Test rankings changed hands?

Using the 60-year period (1951-2011), the leadership has changed hands 28 times, made up of a mixture of long stretches of dominance plus flurries of frequent changes when two or more teams are close together.

Which Teams in Test history would have been number one in the Test Rankings?

1951-55 - Australia

1955-58 - England

1959-63 ? Australia

1964-68 ? West Indies

1969 ? South Africa

1970-73 ? England

1973 ? Australia

1973-74 ? India

1974-78 ? Australia

1978-79 ? West Indies

1979-80 ? England

1980-81 ? India

1981-88 ? West Indies

1988 ? Pakistan

1988-91 ? West Indies

1991- Australia

1991-92 ? West Indies

1992-93 ? Australia

1993 -95 ? West Indies

1995 ? Australia, West Indies, India

1995-99 ? Australia

1999-2000 ? South Africa

2000-01 ? Australia

2001 ? South Africa

2001- 09 ? Australia

2009 ? South Africa

2009 ? present day - India