Fellow captain Gatting tips Strauss to take England to No 1

Mike Gatting welcomed Andrew Strauss into the exclusive club of captains to have won the Ashes in Australia and then backed him to turn England into the world's No 1 team.

By The Newsroom

Published 7th Jan 2011, 23:34 BST

Updated 7th Jan 2011, 23:35 BST

Gatting believes England have the depth of talent and, crucially, the right leaders in order to build on this success and topple India from the top of the rankings.

"I am very proud to be one of the six people to have done it (won in Australia) and I am sure Andrew Strauss will be just as proud because it is a huge effort," said Gatting. "The depth we have got at the moment is very pleasing and it augurs well for an interesting four or five years. The standards will be set high and they won't be stopping until they get to No 1."

Sri Lanka and India tour England this summer.

"That will be a benchmark," added Gatting. "The guys will then be able to say how good a team they are. We will know at the end of the summer how well the team are progressing. "Andrew and (coach) Andy Flower are very like-minded and they have created a great team spirit."