Eng's first in 32 yrs

England have emphatically claimed the No. 1 ranking in the Reliance ICC Test Championship table for the first time in 32 years after winning the Edgbaston Test, against India, by a mammoth margin of an innings and 242 runs.
The victory gave England an impregnable 3-0 lead in the four-Test series.
Andrew Strauss's side had started the series in third position, behind South Africa and trailing top-ranked India by eight ratings points.
For dislodging Mahendra Singh Dhoni's team from the coveted No. 1 spot, Andrew Strauss's side had needed to win the series by a 2-0 margin or better.
England won the first Test, at Lord's, by a convincing 196 runs, then doubled the lead with a thumping 319 runs victory at Trent Bridge before sealing the series at Edgbaston, on Saturday, with an even bigger victory.
ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat, in complimenting the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and the England team, said: "On behalf of the ICC, I would like to congratulate Andrew Strauss, Andy Flower and the whole team for becoming the No. 1-ranked Test team in the world.
"This achievement is a just reward for the hard work from all the players and team management and they no doubt will celebrate being on top of the world," he added.
England had last surged to the top of the Test rankings in February 1979 when the then No. 1 ranked West Indies lost a six-Test series in India by 0-1. However, the West Indies bounced back five months later to beat England by 1-0 in a five-Test series to reclaim the top spot.
Prior to this and since the 1950s, England had twice achieved the No. 1 rankings ' from 1955 to 1959 and then from 1970 to 1973.
In contrast, India had achieved the No. 1 ranking on December 6, 2009 after beating Sri Lanka 2-0 in the three-Test series.
While England will be sitting on top when the Test Championship table will be updated at the end of the series at the conclusion of the fourth and last Test, India's position will depend on how The Oval Test, which starts next Thursday, pans out.
If England win The Oval Test, they will finish on 125 ratings points while India will drop to third on 117 ratings points.
However, if India win or draw the Test, they will stay ahead of South Africa in second position. A win will allow India to finish on 120 ratings points while a drawn Test will mean they will finish on 119 ratings points.
With the new Test Championship confirmed, the top four teams will progress to the play-offs with seedings determined at the cut-off date around mid-January 2013. The final Test match in this series will, therefore, also be significant.
For achieving the number-one Test ranking, England will be presented with the mace at the end of the series.