England can top LG ICC Test Championship if they beat Australia by three Tests in upcoming Ashes series

As the eagerly awaited Ashes series gets underway in Brisbane on Thursday, England captain Andrew Flintoff will be happy with any kind of series win.

But he and his team mates have the added incentive that if they win by three clear Tests, England will overtake Australia at the top of the LG ICC Test Championship table.

England's series win over Pakistan in August has left it 11 rating points adrift of Ricky Ponting's table-topping side but the gap will disappear if England secures a comprehensive win in the five-match series.

Success by three Tests - 3-0 or 4-1 - will lift England to 124 rating points and, at the same time, drop Australia to 123 points, meaning the leadership of the LG ICC Test Championship table would change for the first time since early 2003 when Stephen Waugh's side regained top spot from South Africa.

That, however, will be easier said than done for England as Australia has not lost a series at home since 1992/93 when the West Indies won 2-1. And the last time England won a series Down Under by three clear Tests was way back in 1978/79 when it triumphed 5-1.

All the same, the prospect of getting their hands on the LG ICC Test Championship Mace in addition to securing a second successive Ashes triumph should be a massive extra incentive for England's players.

England's success against Pakistan meant it overtook Inzamam-ul-Haq's side in the LG ICC Test Championship table and Pakistan, now in third position, is just one rating point clear of India. But Pakistan won the first Test of its ongoing home series against the West Indies and looks determined to keep the pressure on England should it struggle in Australia.

The Ashes series may be the number one thing occupying the minds of sports fans in Australia and England but it is also statistically the top contest in world cricket at the moment.

For not only does it involve the top two sides in the LG ICC Test Championship table but it also brings together a large proportion of the top-ranked Test players in the world.

The world's number one Test batsman and ICC Player of the Year is Australia captain Ricky Ponting and he will be supported by two other players in the top ten places of the LG ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen, Matthew Hayden (sixth) and Mike Hussey (seventh). Damien Martyn (15th), Justin Langer (17th) and Adam Gilchrist (18th) are also well placed.

Ponting is beginning to come under pressure for top spot from Pakistan run-machine Mohammed Yousuf, who is enjoying another fine series at home to the West Indies.

The top England batsman in the LG ICC Player Rankings is Kevin Pietersen, who is joint 10th with Sri Lanka's Mahela Jayawardene, while opener Andrew Strauss is ranked 13th in the world.

In the bowling, the Australians also hold the advantage as far as the LG ICC Player Rankings are concerned. Leg-spinner Shane Warne is in third place while Glenn McGrath is fourth; the top England bowler is Flintoff, ranked fifth in the world.

England can also boast two other bowlers in the top ten - Matthew Hoggard, who is seventh, and Steve Harmison in 10th spot. Flintoff is the only player from either side ranked in the top five all-rounders in the world.

The on-field umpires for the first Test at the Gabba will be Steve Bucknor and Billy Bowden from the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Umpires. Third and fourth umpires will be appointed by the host country. Overseeing the match will be Jeff Crowe from the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees.

Full details of the current LG ICC Test Championship and how future results will impact on the table, as well as the LG ICC Player Rankings can be found on the ICC website.