Ben Stokes sets lofty England goal ahead of Zimbabwe Test

England's Test captain Ben Stokes is determined to lead his team to the top of the world rankings, aiming to replicate the success last seen under Sir Andrew Strauss in 2011. Strauss was the last England captain to claim the top spot, albeit briefly, and now Stokes has witnessed his team leap from fifth to second in the International Cricket Council's latest rankings, with only Australia ahead.

Since taking over the reins from Joe Root in 2022, when the team languished in sixth place with their lowest points in nearly three decades, Stokes has overseen a remarkable turnaround, with 22 victories in their last 35 games. With an upcoming one-off match against Zimbabwe, a five-match series on home soil against India, and an Ashes tour to Australia this winter, England are poised for further triumphs that could see them reclaim the number one position.

Stokes didn't hesitate to share his lofty goals with head coach Brendon McCullum and managing director Rob Key, revealing: "When the rankings came out, I did send Baz and Keysy a text saying, 'We've got one more place to go.'"

"Everyone knows when things are going well for us as a team we are incredibly hard to stop. We know it doesn't always go that way. 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'.

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

Stokes has declared a laser focus on the upcoming clash with Zimbabwe, brushing off any distractions of future contests. He said: "We have Zimbabwe now and that's our sole focus at the moment. We know what we have coming up, but we will deal with the challenge of Zimbabwe then as we get closer to India starting, turn our focus to that."

Trent Bridge is set to witness Stokes' return to competitive cricket since December, following a hamstring tear in Hamilton = an injury that mirrored previous troubles last summer, resulting in consecutive surgeries and convalescence periods.

Determined to resume his role as an effective all-rounder, Stokes may yet be spared a heavy bowling workload during Nottingham's match days.

"I've obviously been training a lot over the last two months and got myself back as close as I possibly can to match intensity," he conceded.

"But this will be my first game in a while. There is a bit of a gap between how far I can push myself in training and a game.

"I've done all the work I need to to get out there and bowl some overs, but I've got to be mindful of where I am and build myself back up to proper match workload for later on in the summer. I'm not getting any younger."