Monday 9 October 2017 17:27, UK
England Women have taken over from Australia at the top of the ICC world rankings for the first time since they were introduced.
Australia have topped the combined rankings since they began in October 2015 but World Cup winners England have now edged ahead by an extremely narrow margin.
The rankings take into consideration performances across all three formats over the last three years and England are now top with 128.47 points, a fraction ahead of the Australia, who have 128.43 points.
The news adds further excitement to the upcoming Ashes series, which gets underway later this month.
England captain Heather Knight said: "It's flattering to be named as the number one side in the world because it's a sign of how much progress we've made.
"It won't take anything away from the challenges ahead of us, though. We're a developing side and our journey isn't finished yet.
"We have plenty more hard work to do, starting with the Ashes in Australia this winter, but it has been a great 12 months for us.
"We'll never forget the feeling of winning the ICC Women's World Cup on home soil and we want to keep pushing forward as a side, so we can experience more moments like that."
England head to Australia this month, where they will play one Test, three one-day internationals and three Twenty20s, starting in Brisbane on 22 October.
