James Anderson keen to add World Cup to honours

AFTER helping England become the top-ranked Test nation, seamer James Anderson is determined to establish the current team as one of the best in history.

England took over from India at the top of the ICC rankings for the first time after completing an emphatic innings and 242 runs over their rivals at Edgbaston on Saturday.

After the win team director Andy Flower revealed his desire to now add a World Cup success to England's growing stature - a desire Anderson echoed as the current team looks to become a major force in all formats of the game. "That's exactly what we want to do - we want to dominate," Anderson said. "We are not just happy being Test world No?1 for a week. We want to leave a legacy as an England team. We want to be one of the best England teams that there ever has been and we want to dominate world cricket. Every nation wants to be No?1 in all forms of the game but it very rarely happens that way. "We've conquered one step - we're the best Test nation in the world - now we can push everything else forward now."

A veteran of 62 Tests Anderson has been a cornerstone of England's steady rise up the rankings. England were ranked sixth in the world when Flower took over permanently two years ago and, unsurprisingly, Anderson admits the current team is the best he has ever played in.

"Definitely, by a long way," he said. "We've been working really hard over the past couple of years. We've all been looking to improve as individuals and that helped us improve as a team. If you can play that type of cricket when you are on the back foot and get out fo those situations and come out with a win - that shows how strong you are as a team."

Anderson also praised the leadership qualities of Flower, adding: "Since he came in he sat us down and showed us exactly what we needed to do to become No?1 in the world. The biggest thing for us that has helped is we've concentrated on the small things that have got us here. He has improved everyone and we've seen that in the performances of the team."