England closes gap to eight points as Flintoff and Pietersen surge up LG ICC rankings

England has closed the gap at the top of the LG ICC Test Championship to eight points after beating Australia 2-1 in the Ashes.

England's rating has improved by five points as a result of the series win - from 114 to 119 points - while Australia's rating has fallen from 133 to 127.

England now has highest rating of any side other than Australia since a new system of calculation was introduced in June 2003. Australia's advantage at the top of the official LG table has fallen to below 20 points for the first time in 12 months but its rating is still two points higher than it was at the start of 2004 and it has a good chance of remaining the number one ranked Test team for at least a further six months.

Even if England wins all three of its Tests in Pakistan on its upcoming tour, Australia will still end the year in first place unless it loses its home series to eighth ranked West Indies.

If England manages to win not only in Pakistan but also its three Test series in India, its rating would reach at least 121 and would touch 125 if it were to win all six of its winter Tests.

Australia has upcoming home Test series against West Indies and South Africa. If it either wins both these series or wins one series 3-0 and draws the other, then its rating will be at least 126 and hence remain out of England's reach.

If England and Australia both continue to perform well in Tests against all other countries, then the next series between the sides in 2006/07 will not only have the Ashes at stake but also the leadership of the LG ICC Test Championship.

Andrew Flintoff has climbed to joint seventh place in the LG ICC Test Rankings for bowlers after his best ever series for England. He is also at his career best batting ranking of 23rd. In the last twenty years, only Jacques Kallis has achieved a better combined ranking than Flintoff.

One place behind Flintoff in the batting is Kevin Pietersen, whose rapid rise up the Test rankings has been similar to his performance in the ODI rankings. It is extremely rare for a batsman to reach the world top 25 after just five Test matches.

England's success in the Ashes is reflected in the rise of other players too, most notably Simon Jones, who climbed 20 places to 17th over the series. Marcus Trescothick ended as England's top ranked batsman in eighth place, and Andrew Strauss has returned to the top ten after his form had dipped briefly at the start of the summer.

Several Australian players have slipped down the official rankings. Damien Martyn has dropped ten places to 16th, and Adam Gilchrist dropped seven to 14th. On the bowling front Jason Gillespie dropped five places and Michael Kasprowicz eight. But Shane Warne's 40 wickets have lifted him two places to third, and he is now at his highest points level for seven years. Despite dropping 25 points over the series, Glenn McGrath retains top place in the bowling.

For details of the LG ICC Test Championship visit the Test cricket page of the ICC website.