• England have now fallen below India in world Test rankings
• 5-0 whitewash would put Australia four points clear of England
• Mike Selvey's final day report from Perth here
England are in danger of sliding behind Australia in the world Test rankings if their humiliation continues in the rest of the Ashes series.
It is little more than a year since they were knocked off the top of the rankings by South Africa in Andrew Strauss's last Test as captain, but they have now fallen well behind India as well – despite their famous victory in India in Alastair Cook's first series after succeeding Strauss in late 2012 – and are a single point ahead of Australia in the International Cricket Council rankings.
Australia will leapfrog them if they win the fourth Test in Melbourne after Christmas, a remarkable turnaround after they started the series in fifth, 15 ranking points behind England.
A 5-0 whitewash would lift Australia four points clear of England, and leave Cook's team only five ahead of Pakistan in fourth – the last position that will earn a place in the inaugural World Test Championship which is due to be played in England in the summer of 2017.
A 3-0, 4-1 or 3-2 series defeat would allow England to stay ahead of Australia in third.
Michael Clarke, Australia's captain, has set his team the target of reclaiming the position at the top of the rankings they last held in August 2009, having been there since the system was introduced in June 2003.
"I've said before that our aim is to become the best Test team in the world, and we're moving in the right direction," he said.
"But we won't be looking too far ahead. We've got a huge series in South Africa coming up, but for the moment all we're thinking about is being at our best again for the next Test against England on Boxing Day. There's no danger of complacency, I can assure you of that." Reported by guardian.co.uk 1 day ago.
• 5-0 whitewash would put Australia four points clear of England
• Mike Selvey's final day report from Perth here
England are in danger of sliding behind Australia in the world Test rankings if their humiliation continues in the rest of the Ashes series.
It is little more than a year since they were knocked off the top of the rankings by South Africa in Andrew Strauss's last Test as captain, but they have now fallen well behind India as well – despite their famous victory in India in Alastair Cook's first series after succeeding Strauss in late 2012 – and are a single point ahead of Australia in the International Cricket Council rankings.
Australia will leapfrog them if they win the fourth Test in Melbourne after Christmas, a remarkable turnaround after they started the series in fifth, 15 ranking points behind England.
A 5-0 whitewash would lift Australia four points clear of England, and leave Cook's team only five ahead of Pakistan in fourth – the last position that will earn a place in the inaugural World Test Championship which is due to be played in England in the summer of 2017.
A 3-0, 4-1 or 3-2 series defeat would allow England to stay ahead of Australia in third.
Michael Clarke, Australia's captain, has set his team the target of reclaiming the position at the top of the rankings they last held in August 2009, having been there since the system was introduced in June 2003.
"I've said before that our aim is to become the best Test team in the world, and we're moving in the right direction," he said.
"But we won't be looking too far ahead. We've got a huge series in South Africa coming up, but for the moment all we're thinking about is being at our best again for the next Test against England on Boxing Day. There's no danger of complacency, I can assure you of that." Reported by guardian.co.uk 1 day ago.