RE: England looses first rank in test rankings
Now it is cleared.
Pakistan beat England to threaten India's Test ranking
Pakistan's victory in the Dubai Test against England brought the team withing touching distance of the Number 1 Test status despite retaining the Number 5 position in the rankings.
Misbah-ul-Haq and his team inflicted a 71-run loss on England to stage a whitewash in the 3-Test series. Having entered the series with 99 points, Pakistan earned 9 to finish with 108 points. The team is now just three points behind of arch-rivals India and Australia and the race for the numero-uno position has 10 points separating the top-5.
England however suffered both on the field and in terms of points despite retaining the position and prestige of being the best Test team. Andrew Staruss' side dropped to 118 from 125 points.
England's embarrassing defeats have also brought South Africa in the race for the top-spot and the Proteas now stand a chance to take the crown before the April 1 cut-off. The team however, will have to win all the three Tests against New Zealand which will be played in New Zealand from 7-27 March to win the prize of US$175,000.