Sri Lanka's 328-run thrashing of Bangladesh inside four days in Sylhet means England drop to the bottom of the Word Test Championship standings.
Although England have prevailed in three of their 10 Tests with Sri Lanka gaining a first triumph in three fixtures in the 2023-25 cycle, teams are ranked according to the percentage of points won.
Hindering England's progress was a 19-point deduction for slow over-rates in four of last year's five Ashes Test in a thrilling series which finished 2-2. England have just been beaten 4-1 in India.
Had that not been applied, England, third in the International Cricket Council Test rankings behind India and Australia, would sit in fifth place in the the nine-team World Test Championship.
Ben Stokes' side have a dozen matches remaining before the final at Lord's in June 2025, starting with three-Test series at home against both the West Indies and Sri Lanka this summer and winter tours to Pakistan and New Zealand before the year is out.
England have failed to reach the final in either of the first two editions, finishing fourth in the 2021-23 cycle – having languished at the bottom of the table for a period before the appointment of Stokes as captain and Brendon McCullum as head coach led to a turnaround in results.
