England needs to get better to attain No.1 rankings in Tests, admits Joe Root

Currently, England sits fourth on the rankings table as per the ICC Test rankings and find themselves 17 points short of Australia for the second place in the World Test Championship. While the team has just played the one away series, the majority of their victories have come in home conditions. 

The team was severely exposed last year at the start of the championship against Australia in the Ashes, with the visiting team unable to wrap a series win for the first time in a decade. Despite wrapping up the series against West Indies and the team on the verge of winning against Pakistan, England’s Test skipper Joe Root admitted that the team needs to get better to attain No.1 rankings in the longest format. 

“We know we are not the finished article, we know we have challenges and hurdles to overcome, and things we need to get better at if we want to be the number one team in the world. But I can certainly see this group of players going on to do that,” Root told reporters on Thursday, reported Hindustan Times. 

Incidentally, the team’s limited-overs side have stepped up the benchmark in the world, in terms of standards. However, the Test team has not yet been on the same level as their limited-overs side, which has attained immense success in the past two years. 

“With the competition that is there, people have to keep proving their worth in the team. That is not just the bowlers, but the batters as well. We need to make sure we are driving the standards up all the time,” Root added.

The English skipper also did not reveal any of the team’s tactics or their playing XI ahead of the crucial Test of English summer, as they aim to continue their unbeaten series streak at home. 

“It has been mostly under cover for the last week, and with the sun finally out and a bit of wind, it could change drastically over the course of today. We have not settled on an XI yet, it is so hard to tell with that wicket right now.”