ICC hail `consistent' England's rise to No 1

International Cricket Council (ICC) chief executive Haroon Lorgat praised England's rise to number one in the Test rankings after their latest thrashing of India on Saturday. England won by an innings and 242 runs, with more than a day to spare, to win the third Test at Edgbaston and so take an unbeatable 3-0 lead in this four-match series.

Victory also meant Andrew Strauss's men had won this series by the two-match margin they needed to replace India at the summit of Test cricket and top the table for the first time since its creation in 2003.

"This achievement is just reward for the hard work from all the players and team management and they no doubt will celebrate being on top of the world," Lorgat said in a statement.

England had started the series in third position behind South Africa and trailing top ranked India by eight ratings points. But a series of progressively larger wins by 196 runs in the first Test at Lord's, 319 runs at Trent Bridge and their innings success in Birmingham saw them overhaul India in style. "On behalf of the ICC, I would like to congratulate Andrew Strauss, (England coach) Andy Flower and the whole team for becoming the number-one ranked Test team in the world," Lorgat said.

"I know they were determined to be number-one and through careful planning and a series of clinical performances, they have deservedly achieved their goal," the South African added.

BIRMINGHAM, England, AFP