England slip down Test rankings
Alastair Cook's century could not deflect from a poor performance in Galle
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Monday, 24, Dec 2007 09:10
England's series defeat in Sri Lanka has seen them drop to fifth in the ICC world rankings.
The 1-0 loss in the three-match clash sees Peter Moores' side drop below their opponents, as well as India and South Africa, in the latest Test team rankings.
It comes after England have held on to the title of second-best team behind Australia for most of the year and leaves Moores with much thinking to do.
His England side were outplayed throughout in Sri Lanka and it was only a century from Alastair Cook and rain delays that prevented a second loss in Galle at the weekend.
And that 1-0 win allowed the hosts to join the Proteas and India on 109 points in the Test table, with England two points behind.
Australia are still the leading lights by some distance with 143 points but it is the way the second tier of test-playing nations have caught up with England which will worry Moores most.
"It was a bad Test in the field and we dropped some catches," Moores said after the team hung on for a draw after the ignominy of making just 81 runs in their first innings.
"I look at the whole 'are we getting better or are we getting worse' [question], and I think we're getting better but we have targeted fielding as an area we have to improve.
"There are some inconsistencies to it because some of the skill levels are not up to the required standard. There are things to be taken into account like the combination of [Andrew] Strauss and [Andrew] Flintoff at first and second slip which is no longer there.
"It's something we have to get right as quickly as we possibly can."
Full ICC Test rankings
1. Australia - 143 points
2. South Africa - 109
3. Sri Lanka - 109
4. India - 109
5. England - 107
6. Pakistan - 94
7. New Zealand - 91
8. West Indies - 72
9. Bangladesh - 4