India, England to clash for no.2 spot

India and England will be going head-to-head for second place in the LG ICC Test Championship table when their three-match Test series starts on Wednesday in Nagpur.

Also Read Rudderless England face stiff task Pitch perfect for India

Only two points separate the two teams, who have swapped positions twice in the past three months, but are now facing each other and a victory for either team will put some daylight between them.

England are currently ranked second and victory by one Test (1-0 or 2-1) will be enough to take them six rating points clear of Rahul Dravid's line-up.

And if they can overcome their pre-series illness and injury concerns to win all three matches then they will move to 118 points, just 11 short of Australia's mark while at the same time dropping India to fourth in the table, below Pakistan.

For India, on the other hand, any series win will take them back ahead of England, a position they surrendered after their series loss in Pakistan less than a month ago.

A 1-0 or 2-1 success for the home side will take them to 114 rating points and drop England to 111, while a clean sweep by India will lift them to 116 and leave England on 109, just one point ahead of Pakistan.

England can boast an impressive seam bowling battery with prospective captain Andrew Flintoff (4th), Matthew Hoggard (10th), Stephen Harmison (14th) and Simon Jones (17th) all capable of match-winning displays.

But India also have loads of talent with Anil Kumble (11th), Irfan Pathan (12th) and Harbhajan Singh (18th) all hoping to stamp their mark on the series.

India though has the edge in batting.  The combination of Rahul Dravid (6th), Virender Sehwag (9th), Sachin Tendulkar (12th) and V.V.S.Laxman (23rd) is enough to give even the best bowlers sleepless nights. England, by contrast, have just two players in the top 25 batting places in the LG ICC Test Rankings – Marcus Trescothick at 10 and Andrew Strauss at 15 – and Trescothick has already returned home for personal reasons.

That means England's batsmen outside that top 25 – the likes of Kevin Pietersen (29th), Flintoff (32nd) and Ian Bell (43rd) – will have to score heavily to ensure England remain competitive.

Flintoff will have his own private duel with Pathan in the LG ICC Test Rankings for all-rounders. The England player is currently second in that list, behind South Africa's Jacques Kallis, while Pathan is fourth and capable of moving up the list with a strong series.

Following are the latest ICC rankings:
1 Australia 129
2 England 113
3 India 111
4 Pakistan 108
5 New Zealand 100
6 South Africa 99
7 Sri Lanka 96
8 West Indies 73
9 Zimbabwe 27
10 Bangladesh 5