Sports Desk:

England captain Ben Stokes has revealed his ambition to guide his side to the top of the ICC Test rankings, declaring his intent to overtake archrivals Australia and cement England’s place as the best red-ball team in the world.

Following a recent ICC rankings update, England surged two places to second, leapfrogging both South Africa and India.

While Australia maintain a healthy 13-point lead, Stokes wasted no time in rallying his team and support staff toward the ultimate goal.

“When the rankings came out, I did send Baz and Keysy a text saying, ‘We’ve got one more place to go’,” Stokes said, referring to coach Brendon McCullum and managing director Rob Key.

“Everyone knows when things are going well for us as a team we are incredibly hard to stop.”

England’s recent resurgence in Test cricket has been credited largely to the fearless, high-intensity approach introduced under Stokes and McCullum.

That philosophy will next be put to the test in a one-off match against Zimbabwe in Nottingham this week, before a high-stakes five-Test home series against India as part of the ICC World Test Championship.

Later this year, England will travel to Australia for a blockbuster Ashes series — a contest that could prove decisive in the rankings race.

While some teams aim to be “ruthless,” Stokes prefers a different mindset.

“The word ‘ruthless’, I’m not a big fan of. The words I do love and what I’ve tried to instil in this team is ‘dominance’ and ‘dominate’,” he said.

“Whatever situation we find ourselves in the game, that’s the word I want to be at the front of our heads.”

With momentum building and leadership firing, England’s red-ball journey to No.1 is well and truly underway.