England have been ranked as the number one Twenty20 team in the world by the International Cricket Council earlier today.

In the first ever standings for the T20 format of the game, England have been handed 127 points at the summit, while Sri Lanka trail in second just one point behind.

New Zealand are in third, followed by South Africa, India and Australia.

England's T20 captain Stuart Broad has welcomed the arrival of T20 rankings and is under no illusions that his side will have to continue performing well if they are able to hold on to the top spot.

"It's great to see the introduction of Twenty20 International team and player rankings in line with the other formats of the game," he said.

"The England team is delighted to be the number-one ranked international Twenty20 team in world cricket at this time but we're certainly under no illusions that we must continue to work hard and improve if we're to stay on top of the tree.

"We relish the chance to represent our country in the shortest form of the game and I know the England players are already looking forward to the challenge of defending our ICC World Twenty20 title in Sri Lanka in less than 12 months' time."

Should England lose their T20 fixture with India on Saturday then they will slip to third in the rankings.