England rise to No.1
England's journey to the summit
Andrew Strauss and Andy Flower didn't have the best start to their time at the top as England were famously shot out for 51 in Jamaica•AFP
The first series win duly followed as England thumped West Indies by 10 wickets in Chester-le-Street at the Wisden Trophy•Getty Images
The series headed to the final Test level as Australia hit back with a massive win on a pace-friendly track in Headingley•Getty Images
They went one-up in the series as Ian Bell produced a possibly career-saving century at Durban to set up an innings win that was sealed by the bowling of Broad and Graeme Swann•Getty Images
Bangladesh were then disposed off 2-0 after Swann's offspinn fetches 16 wickets in a series where England's batsmen found run-scoring easy•PA Photos
Pakistan hit back with a win in the third Test before Trott and Broad's magnificent comeback at Lord's was overshadowed by the spot-fixing scandal•Getty Images
England were stunned at Perth by Mitchell Johnson, who blew them away for 187 in the first innings with one of the great Ashes spells•Getty Images
England v India was expected to be a contest of equals, but the difference between the sides was evident in the first Test at Lord's. Pietersen smashed a double-ton with India deprived of their best bowler due to injury•Getty Images
They rode on Alastair Cook's 294 in the third Test at Edgbaston, piling on 710 and laying the stage for another Indian humiliation•AFP
Their first Test in charge at home was much better as England demolished West Indies by an innings and 23 runs at Lord's•Getty Images
The bigger challenge of the Ashes arrived, and England survived the opener as their last wicket pair played out more than 11 overs in Cardiff•Getty Images
The Ashes were back in England's hands as Stuart Broad ripped through Australia in the first innings before debutant Jonathan Trott's century buried the visitors at The Oval•Getty Images
England continued their trend for final-wicket heroics in the next Test at Cape Town after Bell had produced the "innings of his life" on the final day •Getty Images
The return leg will probably be remembered for Tamim Iqbal's glorious centuries but Steven Finn's 15 wickets results in another 2-0 win for England•Getty Images
The next task was retaining the Ashes by winning in Australia. Peter Siddle's hat-trick put England in trouble at Brisbane before their batsmen responded with the grit of champions to reach the astonishing score of 517 for 1 in the second innings•AFP
The enduring image of the famous Melbourne win with which England retained the urn was the 'sprinkler dance'. The big victory at Sydney the following week left Australia shattered•Getty Images
James Anderson grabbed a five-for in India's chase to give his team a 1-0 lead•Associated Press
The No.1 ranking in Tests was sealed with a thumping innings win•AFP
Andrew Flintoff powered England to a 1-0 in the next Test with a menacing five-wicket haul in the second innings at Lord's •Associated Press
Next up was another major challenge - a tour of South Africa. Again they began the series by surviving through a desperate final-wicket resistance at Centurion•PA Photos
An increasingly rare defeat for Strauss's men ends the series in a draw as South Africa's pace pair of Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel prove too hot for England at the Wanderers •Associated Press
England continue to find Test cricket easy as they comfortably win the first two matches against visiting Pakistan•Getty Images
Kevin Pietersen took centrestage in the next Test at Adelaide, hammering a double-century that set up England's innings victory•Getty Images
England showed off an ability to conjure wins from nowhere in Cardiff when Sri Lanka came visiting. In a match seemingly headed for a draw, they blasted Sri Lanka out for 82 on the final day to put them 1-0 ahead, which was enough to secure a rain-marred series •Getty Images
Stuart Broad starred in an all-round effort in the next Test at Trent Bridge, with scores of 64 and 44 and eight wickets in total, including a hat-trick. England, after having fought back from a difficult position, thrashed India by 319 runs•Getty Images