@Aneeshmoha, yes statistically speaking SA might have been the most successful side but we were talking about the number of games played. Keep in mind that if SA had played more games and become no 1, the going would have been that much tougher for them. e.g. if SA go to SL as a no 3 side and manage a 1-1, they would probably stay on the same number of points but if they manage such a result as a no 1 side, they might well end up losing some points. Point being, as you climb the rankings, the win ratio required is higher to maintain your ranking which is not necessarily made any easier by playing more games. This only confirms the general saying in life that it's hard to reach the top but harder even to stay there.

@tests_the_best with all due respect over the last 4 years SA have lost 1 series only 1 and that was against Australia. SA have beaten or drawn with everyone most of those away from home including pakistan india and australia. Stats don't liemeaning statistically SA are the most successful team over the last for years purely on the basis that they've only lost 1 series. Name another team over the same period with a better record.

I love how no-one is now talking about the birth place of a couple of players in the England side. I think as an England fan one can judge how well we are doing when people start trotting (pun intended) out that old chestnut. I hope to see it again by the end of next test.

@Muttee on (July 25 2012, 08:44 AM GMT) It was a shock that our batting was so bad and obviously I give full credit to the Pak bowlers but alot of the wickets weren't to unplayable deliveries. Also (and I know it's different conditions etc)but Pak spinners didn't do so well against SL afterwards. It's hypothetical of course but I'd still say our batsmen were woeful

@JG2704: no disrespect to Pakistani batting but compared to English batting, they were at best mediocre. Both bowling line-ups had to bowl at different sides, Pak bowlers had a much tougher task and don't you think it was the bowling that made them look bamboozled rather than just plain abysmal batting. the aggressive fields set for Ajmal and Rehman put so much pressure and they just couldn't read his doosra at all. I wouldn't blame your batting on that, if you had seen it ball by ball you would know it was your batting;s failure but it was the class of bowling that made your batting look pedestrian.

The best bowling attack in the world?? How can some one make such claims about English bowling unit. They have no world class bowler and some what better figures from Andersen are only because he plays most of his game on swing friendly home wickets.

@unregisteredalien - classic! @Aneesmoha - lack of games does not neccessarily mean lack of points, unless it coincides with NOT playing lowly ranked sides relative to other top sides.

@Aneesmoha, agreed SA played less games than eng and aus but how can you be sure that if they had played more, they would have only won/drawn those games? Loss in those games would have negatively impacted SA's ranking. Of the more games that eng played, 5 were is asia where they lost 1-4. Am sure eng would easily have settled for playing less games if that would have wiped out the 1-4 blot on their otherwise impressive record till that time.

All those talking about the rankings regardless of the formula used SA have played. 11 less games than England and are 9 points behind. They have played 13 less games than Australia and are only 3 points behind. They have played the 3rd least amount of tests after NZ and Bangladesh. This SA team should win or draw 80-85% of the games or series they compete in. So seriously who is the best team in the world.

@Jeremy Bradshaw on (July 24 2012, 08:54 AM GMT) The ranking system is not meaningless at all. Sure we beat Australia in 2010/11 but if you look at results of both teams since against common opponents and both teams beat India 4-0 , but Aus won in SL whereas Eng drew , Eng beat WI at home 2-0 and Aus beat WI away by the same margin. Aus drew away to SA late last year which looks at this point to be trumping Eng's home series vs SA. Eng deserved to get to number 1 , mainly from their 4-0 win vs Ind and 3-1 away win in Oz but we have to say that if/when we lose this series the number 1 will deservedly go to SA and we can't really begrudge Aus going ahead of us if we're getting beaten so regularly