CRICKET-ENGLAND ROAR TO TOP OF THE WORLD

England knocked India off the top of the world Test rankings with a crushing innings-and-242-run victory at Edgbaston.
Coach Andy Flower and captain Andrew Strauss have helped a talented squad reach their potential over the past two years.

Andrew Strauss was full of pride in England after they beat India by an innings and 242 runs at Edgbaston to win the series and move to the top of the Test rankings.

England built on convincing wins in the opening two Tests by claiming their most crushing victory in the series to date as opener Alastair Cook struck 294 and the home attack bowled India out for 224 and 244.
Cook, who batted for over 12 hours, felt his work in the nets between the second and third Tests had paid dividends.


He said: "It wasn't so much changes, it was just putting in some hard yards away from match practice, and it's all been worth the while."


Asked if the level of concentration to put on such a big score was God-given or something that could be worked on and improved, Cook added: "You can definitely work and improve. Over the first stage of my career I scored some runs but never went out and got big hundreds but over the last 12 months it was a big area I wanted to improve, and it's certainly worked so far."

Cook, who batted for over 12 hours, felt his work in the nets between the second and third Tests had paid dividends.


He said: "It wasn't so much changes, it was just putting in some hard yards away from match practice, and it's all been worth the while."


Asked if the level of concentration to put on such a big score was God-given or something that could be worked on and improved, Cook added: "You can definitely work and improve. Over the first stage of my career I scored some runs but never went out and got big hundreds but over the last 12 months it was a big area I wanted to improve, and it's certainly worked so far."
Strauss and coach Andy Flower have overseen a remarkable transformation in the cricketing fortunes of the country which invented the sport yet was languishing near the foot of that ICC table just two-and-a-half years ago.
It was at that point Strauss inherited the captaincy from Kevin Pietersen, and Flower his permanent role soon afterwards.
Ashes victories home and away have followed, and England's 3-0 success to knock table-toppers India off their perch is their sixth in succession since they managed only to draw in South Africa in 2009/10.
"The series never really went our way. Most of the sessions were won by them. More often than not, we were outplayed. We have been completely outplayed in the series so far," said a stoic Dhoni after losing the Test and the mantle of world's best Test side at Edgbaston on Saturday.
Dhoni found fault with Indian batting more than the bowling, though he admitted both the departments, as well as in the fielding, they haven't been good so far.

"Our batting hasn't clicked as it should have. We haven't been able to put on par score on the board. I am happy with the bowlers; in the first two games, it was tough on them with just three bowlers.

"You have to be at your best when you are playing against top nations. The pressure all along kept mounting on us. If you are not able to get the opposition out because you are a bowler short, the pressure starts mounting. On top of it, England are a very good side," Dhoni said.
International Cricket Council chief executive Haroon Lorgat has congratulated England on "deservedly" becoming the world's top-ranked Test team.Lorgat said: "On behalf of the ICC, I would like to congratulate Andrew Strauss, Andy Flower and the whole team for becoming the number-one ranked Test team in the world.

"I know they were determined to be number one and through careful planning and a series of clinical performances, they have deservedly achieved their goal.

"They were clearly the most consistent side in the world over the past few years as evidenced by their 19 out of 30 Test wins and only four losses.

"This achievement is just reward for the hard work from all the players and team management and they no doubt will celebrate being on top of the world."

The win put England top of the ICC Test table for the first time since 1980.
But where does india go from this series loss?
"This disastrous tour has been a while in the making. The selectors' failure to address issues like an ageing batting line-up, a declining offspinner, and substandard fielding in the five-day game, has finally come home to roost," Chappell said.

"The shrewdness of MS Dhoni's captaincy, the potency of Virender Sehwag's strokeplay, and the bowling of Zaheer Khan have all done a better job than spackle in covering up the Indian cracks. But like firemen on their sliding pole, the descent for India will be much quicker than their steady climb up the rankings was," he added.

Chappell blamed the selectors for what seems to be lack of bench strength in Indian cricket.

"In all likelihood, India will be ranked No. 3 by the time they tour Australia. Following three heavy losses to England in the last Ashes series, Australia, it was assumed, would be easy pickings for India. I wouldn't be so sure," he said in his column.

"With all Australia's problems - and there are many, with two reviews into poor performance running concurrently - they do have fast-bowling potential. If they get the bulk of their young fast bowlers fit for selection, Australia should field a decent pace attack. If they do, the Indian selectors, who have been negligent in their duty, could face their worst nightmare," Chappell added.

England's cricketer-turned-commentator Tony Greig took a dig at the BCCI for the team's poor show.

"Who will the BCCI blame for this fiasco? Who do Indian cricket supporters blame?