Benedict Bermange looks at the players who have helped England's rise to No 1 from the 2005 Ashes.
Some of the parts in England's rise to the top...
More than a few good men have helped England's ascent to No 1 in the Test rankings. As Andrew Strauss' side seeks to wrap up a 4-0 series whitewash over India, Benedict Bermange takes a look at the players who have trodden some - or all - of the path to the top, from Michael Vaughan's victorious Ashes side of 2005 to the present day. To qualify for a 'Yes' in the year-by-year table below, a player must have represented England at Test level in the corresponding 12 months.The path to No 1: Ashes 2005 to Summer 2011
Player | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 |
Marcus Trescothick | Yes | Yes | - | - | - | - | - |
Andrew Strauss | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Michael Vaughan | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | - | - | - |
Kevin Pietersen | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Ian Bell | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Paul Collingwood | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes* |
Andrew Flintoff | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | - | - |
Geraint Jones | Yes | Yes | - | - | - | - | - |
Ashley Giles | Yes | Yes | - | - | - | - | - |
Matthew Hoggard | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | - | - | - |
Steve Harmison | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | - | - |
Simon Jones | Yes | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Alastair Cook | - | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Jonathan Trott | - | - | - | - | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Eoin Morgan | - | - | - | - | - | Yes | Yes |
Ravi Bopara | - | - | Yes | - | Yes | - | Yes |
Matt Prior | - | - | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Tim Bresnan | - | - | - | - | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Stuart Broad | - | - | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Graeme Swann | - | - | - | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Chris Tremlett | - | - | Yes | - | - | Yes | Yes |
James Anderson | Yes** | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Steven Finn | - | - | - | - | - | Yes | Yes |
Monty Panesar | - | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | - | - |
Ryan Sidebottom | - | - | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | - |
Tim Ambrose | - | - | - | Yes | Yes | - | - |
Liam Plunkett | Yes** | Yes | Yes | - | - | - | - |
Sajid Mahmood | - | Yes | Yes | - | - | - | - |
Graham Onions | - | - | - | - | Yes | Yes | - |
Owais Shah | - | Yes | Yes | - | Yes | - | - |
Chris Read | - | Yes | Yes | - | - | - | - |
Shaun Udal | Yes** | Yes | - | - | - | - | - |
Ian Blackwell | - | Yes | - | - | - | - | - |
Michael Carberry | - | - | - | - | - | Yes | - |
Jon Lewis | - | Yes | - | - | - | - | - |
Darren Pattinson | - | - | - | Yes | - | - | - |
Ajmal Shahzad | - | - | - | - | - | Yes | - |
James Tredwell | - | - | - | - | - | Yes | - |
Amjad Khan | - | - | - | - | Yes | - | - |