England captain Joe Root says he “can certainly see” his players becoming the world’s number one Test team.
Root urged his teammates to finish their home summer with a win against Pakistan in the third Test at the Rose Bowl.
England lost their opening Test of their home season to West Indies, but followed that with two victories to claim the series, and then beat Pakistan in the first Test by a narrow three wickets.
The second Test at the same venue ended in a draw after persistent rain ruined the contest, and so there is still a job to do to complete the series win on Friday.
“We know we are not the finished article, we know we have challenges and hurdles to overcome, and things we need to get better at if we want to be the number one team in the world,” Root told reporters on Thursday.
“But I can certainly see this group of players going on to do that.
“We have got a great group of bowlers now that we feel cover a number of different surfaces and challenges wherever we go in the world. That is an exciting place to be.”
England’s bowlers have largely risen to the occasion this summer, but they have been less impressive with the bat, passing 320 only twice in the previous five Tests.
“With the competition that is there, people have to keep proving their worth in the team. That is not just the bowlers, but the batters as well. We need to make sure we are driving the standards up all the time,” Root added.
England will only decide on the morning of the Test whether to go with an all seam attack or select spinner Dom Bess, who has been used sparingly in the summer to date.
“We have not settled on an XI yet, it is so hard to tell with that wicket right now,” Root said.
“It has been mostly undercover for the last week, and with the sun finally out and a bit of wind, it could change drastically over the course of today.
“So we want to keep everything on the table and then make a strong call tomorrow.”
AREH
Roar Guru
Still think - ultimately - this side is crying out for Foakes' specialising behind the stumps.
FunBus
Roar Rookie
Yes, Shield cricket is an amazing standard. That must be why England A beat Australia A by 9 wickets at the MCG when they met last March.
FunBus
Roar Rookie
So the ball seaming and swinging around for 40 overs is an advantage to a batsman if he’s at home us it?
JGK
Roar Guru
OK, 4 years younger than Jimmy. :happy: That could mean he's around for another few years.
Just Nuisance
Roar Rookie
JGK Stuart Broad is 34 years old.. In the fast bowler universe that's a pensioner.. :silly:
JGK
Roar Guru
Broad is still only early 30s - he's 5 years younger than Anderson.
Jak
Guest
playing half his matches on seaming wickets with the Duke ball you mean his home wickets?
Jak
Guest
He's got his beer goggle on. Only Stokes is world class. The rest would struggle to make a Shield side.
Peter Farrar
Roar Pro
And so he should say that. He'll be wanting to inspire and lift his team. It has to start with believing in yourself. But winning in Australia is a big ask but not impossible, just ask Andrew Strauss.
Homer Gain
Guest
I love Joe Root to bits, but he's no leader. Victories over a poor Windies team and raw Pakistani side don't disprove that. We've swapped one of the test best batsmen in the world for one of the worst test captains. Don't ask m who I'd replace him with, but we want our Rooty back.
FunBus
Roar Rookie
Then they must be mental. He’s only 29, he’s already got 17 test centuries, and his last one was 226 only 7 tests ago, and one of those tests was rained off. Yes, he gets a lot of 50s as well, and he probably should have got even more centuries, but most batsmen would kill for his record.
Just Nuisance
Roar Rookie
Beat Pakistan first.. Anderson and Broad cannot be very far from retirement.. Sorry Joe but talk is cheap.. Right now only 2 candidates to challenge for Test crickets mace and that's Australia or India.. Gonna have to stand in line.
DaveJ
Roar Rookie
Think there might be more upside in their batting than their bowling. Pope, Crawley and Stokes could have a lot more improvement in them, and Root could lift his game again. Whereas it’s hard to see Anderson and Broad being much of a force outside England. Much will depend on Archer, particularly in Australia next year, and Bess doesn’t seem to have solved the search of a top line spinner, though time may tell. Their bowling is still a notch below Australia and India.
Marty
Roar Rookie
Well of course he’s going to say that isn’t he.
Gonzo99
Roar Rookie
Yes, but he hasn't been turning the 50s into 100s. I know hindsight's a wonderful thing, but if this morning you were asked to predict who'd be 170 odd not out at the close of play, I doubt he'd be your first choice. I know English cricket fans can be hyper critical, but the BBC comments section for today's test had a healthy amount of people wondering about how he can get out of this "trough".
FunBus
Roar Rookie
You do know that even after a poor trot and playing half his matches on seaming wickets with the Duke ball he averages 48 in test cricket, right?
BarmyFarmer
Guest
Test cricket at an all time low in quality and depth, to be honest any of the top 4 teams could be number 1 for a short period so Joe might not actually be far off.
Gee
Roar Rookie
Weak batting & a bowling attack that is limited when traveling OS, keep dreaming.
Gonzo99
Roar Rookie
He's a long way from it at the moment. Last big score was on the tour to NZ. Out of the top 6, he looks least likely to post a big score right now.
Savage
Roar Rookie
As long as Joe Root is best England batsmen,They can never achieve the no 1 ranking.