England need to win Ashes series by three clear Tests to take lead in LG ICC Test Championship table

England's cricketers will need to win the forthcoming Ashes series by three clear Tests to overtake Australia at the top of the LG ICC Test Championship table.

England's series win over Pakistan has left it 11 rating points adrift of Ricky Ponting's table-topping side but the gap can be removed if England secures a comprehensive win in the five-match series that begins in Brisbane on 23 November.

That, however, will be easier said than done 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 there 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.

The Mace, incidentally, has remained in Australia's hands for more than three years, since the side, then led by Stephen Waugh, regained it from South Africa in early 2003.

England's series success against Pakistan, confirmed by its victory in the third Test at Headingley, has seen it overtake 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, on the plus side for the visitors, Mohammad Yousuf's outstanding form has seen him rise to third place in the LG ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen, his best-ever ranking.

The elegant right-hander, who scored 631 runs in the four matches against England, is now the highest-placed Pakistan batsman in the list as he and Younis Khan, now fourth, have swapped places. Inzamam remains unchanged in seventh position, completing a hat-trick of Pakistan players in the top ten places.

Mohammad Yousuf now has just two players ahead of him - Australia's Ricky Ponting, who continues to top the list, and Rahul Dravid of India.

England's leading batsman in the table remains Kevin Pietersen, in 11th spot, although captain Andrew Strauss is hot on his heels, up one place to 12th, equaling his best placing this year.

Further down the list, a double failure for Marcus Trescothick at The Brit Oval has seen him slide four spots to 19th and it means he is in danger of slipping out of the top 20 for the first time in three years.

However, more encouraging from an England perspective is the continuing high placing in the LG ICC Player Rankings of Alastair Cook and Ian Bell. Cook has risen 10 places to 26th, his best-ever ranking, after scoring 40 and 83 in the fourth Test, while Bell is one position higher in the list.

For Pakistan, both Imran Farhat (38th) and Mohammad Hafeez (72nd) have achieved career-best rankings thanks to their performances in the fourth Test.

There has been little change in the LG ICC Player Rankings for Test bowlers following the fourth Test between England and Pakistan.

England still has three players in the top 20 positions - Andrew Flintoff (5th), Matthew Hoggard (6th) and Stephen Harmison (11th) and all of them are non-movers.

Pakistan, meanwhile, has pace bowler Shoaib Akhtar in eighth spot while leg-spinner Danish is 19th, down one position.

Outside the top 20 Mohammad Asif, who took five wickets on his return from injury, rises five places to 27th position in a list still headed by Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralidaran, clear of Makhaya Ntini of South Africa.

Mohammad Asif and Umar Gul (35th) have both finished the series with their best-ever rankings in the LG ICC Player Rankings for Test bowlers.

The LG ICC Player Rankings for Test all-rounders remains unchanged with Jacques Kallis of South Africa ahead of Flintoff.

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 here