England have slumped to the bottom of the World Test Championship standings after Sri Lanka completed a crushing victory over Bangladesh on Monday.
A 328-run victory in Sylhet sees Sri Lanka climb off the bottom with their first victory of the cycle, leaving England propping up the nine-team league following their 4-1 series defeat in India at the start of this year.
England have actually won three of their ten Tests during the current edition of the Championship, which began last summer. That is more than all but three of the teams above them, but since the nations do not play an equal number of Tests, the standings are decided on the percentage of available points won.
Ben Stokes’s side, who remain third in the International Cricket Council’s separate Test world rankings, were further harmed in the Championship by a 19-point deduction for slow over rates during last summer’s Ashes series.
Five-match series against the two best sides in the world - India and Australia - have given England a tough start to the cycle and despite a kinder schedule ahead (six Tests at home to West Indies and Sri Lanka this summer) they already face an uphill task to reach the 2025 final.
England failed to reach the final of either of the first two editions, which were won by New Zealand and Australia, with India beaten finalists on both occasions.
