England aim for #1 in tests

[gaurav92]

:beee:

[rkt.india]

They are not no. one and Swan is already planning about how and when they planned to get that rank.

Bhai pehle ban to jao, hava me baad me ud lena, kahi ye hava me teer chalate rahe aur teer ud khud inhi ke lag jaaye aur phir inhe pata lage ke ye mungeri laal ke haseen sapne dekh rahe they

:haha:

[BERGKAMP]

Bumble and Botham have just declared on skysports that England will comfortably beat both Sri Lanka and India, are currently the best test team in the world, and are confident they will be no. 1 by the end of the English summer.

[asterix]

When Australia was #1 for so many years, we never heard of these type of pledges from English players..

[CoverDrive]

I like it when opposition start shooting thier mouth off.

[ganeshran]

Clever fellow - didnt put any number.. will be filled later after the series :acute:

[cowboysfan]

i will bet all my icf money on india remaining no 1 at the end of the year.

[Hell Raiser]

Isn't this funny, they all have downgraded the ICC ranking system after India became number 1 but these people still want to be number 1 on these rankings.

[Ramzz]

I hope they keep talking. Nothing motivates our players better. ZAK will be all ready ;)

[Tigerbait]

Isn't this funny' date=' they all have downgraded the ICC ranking system after India became number 1 but these people still want to be number 1 on these rankings.[/quote'] Yep, the ranking only have meaning when Aus and Eng are at the top. There's probably an ICC bylaw that states this. I love that we financially dominate cricket now. Its fun to watch the rest of the countries dance.

[flamy]

Yep, the ranking only have meaning when Aus and Eng are at the top. There's probably an ICC bylaw that states this. I love that we financially dominate cricket now. Its fun to watch the rest of the countries dance.

We dominate cricket every which way

[saneindian]

England must prove themselves in India and Sri Lanka before laying claim to No1 spot- Murali Sri Lankan great Muttiah Muralitharan has talked down England's plans to become the best Test side in the world ahead of the series between the two which starts in Cardiff today. England return to the five-day game for the first time since their glorious Ashes tour, determined to earn the right to be called the best Test-playing nation on the planet. But Muralitharan, who took 800 Test wickets before his retirement last year - and removed an English batsman 112 times - believes Andrew Strauss' men need to prove themselves in countries such as Sri Lanka and India before they can claim to be the best. ''I think they are good in England, but on the sub-continent they are not that good,'' he told BBC Radio 5 Live. ''They had a brilliant win in the Ashes but other than that they haven't done many great things in the sub-continent. ''They have to improve on the sub-continent, beating sides from the sub-continent in the sub-continent. They have to beat Sri Lanka and India in their conditions.'' Muralitharan has acknowledged the brilliance of England spinner Graeme Swann, but feels they will be unable to conquer the Asian sides on their own patch unless they can find a spin twin to go alongside the Nottinghamshire man. ''At the moment they have a lovely spinner in Graeme Swann, but they need one more spinner to be fighting in the sub-continent because it's difficult with one,'' he said. ''In the sub-continent you need two good spinners. I think Graeme Swann is world class but they need another one.'' Sri Lanka's attack is somewhat different to the one that last toured England in 2006, with Muralitharan having retired completely, and the dangerous Lasith Malinga also calling time on his Test career. Malinga cited a need to preserve his fitness as the reason why he will only play one-day cricket in future, and Muralitharan has backed his former team-mate's decision. He said: ''I think he was struggling for the last two or three years with his knee. He only played one match last year. ''He thinks his career is over in Test cricket and he can play one-day cricket until the next World Cup and I feel it's a wise choice for him to do that. ''I think his body would not take it because he had a very bad knee.'' http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/cricket/international/england/8537334/England-must-prove-themselves-in-India-and-Sri-Lanka-before-laying-claim-to-No1-spot-says-Muttiah-Muralitharan.html ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Wonder how the Sky crew will react to this. maybe they will start talking about Murali's action andwhy his wickets and records should not be counted.

[Zap_Brannigan]

But winning in India is easy. India always does it. So that shouldnt be a criteria for teams to be considered #1. All they have to do is beat India once in 15 years at their home and then they can claim the #1 spot.

[saneindian]

Bumble and Botham have just declared on skysports that England will comfortably beat both Sri Lanka and India' date=' are currently the best test team in the world, and are confident they will be no. 1 by the end of the English summer.[/quote'] They had said England will be a dominant ODI side and will win the WC after they won the t20 WC. Look where they have ended. The test team will meet the same fate sooner or later.

[Rusty]

More chest thumping from england. Have they forgotten what happened when India last toured England?? Zaheer must be itching to get a hand on one of those dukes....

[King Tendulkar]

Isn't this funny' date=' they all have downgraded the ICC ranking system after India became number 1 but these people still want to be number 1 on these rankings.[/quote'] :giggle:

[vamos_rafa]

I like this. Even befor the SA tour, the Saffers were going over board with this and that while our team was keeping a mum. Anyways empty vessels make more noise ;--)

[rkt.india]

WTF Murli is talking about? These rules do not apply to England at all. They are cricket inventor. It is England the place where teams have to won. England do not need to win in India and SL. In fact, they do not even need to play in these third world countries.:winky:

[Cricket Tragic]

Haha, well said Murali.

[kabira]

Someone should ask Beefy when did they last win in India? I am sure he will say "No comments"