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London - England will climb to the top of the one-day
international (ODI) cricket world rankings if they can maintain their fine form
in the format, all-rounder Ben Stokes said after the side completed a series
victory in Bangladesh.
Stokes played a key role with an unbeaten 47 as England won
the deciding third match against the hosts in Chittagong on Wednesday to wrap
up a third successive one-day series triumph, having beaten Sri Lanka and
Pakistan at home earlier this year.
England are currently fifth in the ODI rankings, behind
Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and India.
"It's really exciting. If we carry on like this we'll
achieve our target of being world No 1," Stokes, who was named the man of
the series, told Sky Sports.
England's loss to Bangladesh in Adelaide, which knocked them out of the 2015 ODI World Cup, spurred a string of changes to the national team set-up and Stokes felt the squad are starting to yield the dividends of the strategy.
"The team we have had together for the last 18 months
have been playing unbelievable cricket," the 25-year-old added.
With skipper Eoin Morgan sitting out the Bangladesh series
over security concerns, wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler was tasked with leading
a young and inexperienced squad against a side that had won their six previous
home ODI series.
"Me and Jos work quite well. We're quite aggressive in
how we want to play our cricket, not just with the bat and the ball, but with
field placings," Stokes, who was vice-captain for the series, said.
Morgan and influential opening batsman Alex Hales are expected to return to the squad when England travel to India for their next three-match ODI series in January.
