Nasser Hussain - egg on the face

[The Outsider]

I think you have misunderstood my post. I did not question how we rose to #1. Yes, we did beat England (but that was back in 2007 when they weren't quite as good) and won a test in Australia few years ago (did not win a series). My point is that we would not have stayed at no. 1 for 18 months, had we played England and Aussies away shortly after we became #1 (similar to England visiting the subcontinent shortly after they became #1) The context was that some here were implying "England was only able to stay at the #1 spot for 6 months which we managed to do for 18 months and therefore we were better", which i thought was nonsense.

It's not nonsense - how difficult is it to understand the difference that India's number 1 ranking factored in tours to Australia, England, and South Africa whereas England's number 1 ranking only included one 2 test series to India and no tours to Pakistan and Sri Lanka (it does now and one can argue that their current number 1 ranking is more well rounded now)?

[Chandan]

The context was that some here were implying "England was only able to stay at the #1 spot for 6 months which we managed to do for 18 months and therefore we were better", which i thought was nonsense. This is the key point i was making. We are a rubbish test side at the moment and we are going to get a lot worse. Whereas the English side is already very good and is only going to get better.

The English side is a very good side at the moment and is a better side than what what India was when it became number 1 in 2009. The simple reason is it has good number of pace bowlers and even better than average spinners in its ranks but India NEVER had good pace bowlers, yet it rose to number one rank and kept it for 20 months while England was/is in danger of losing is within just 5 matches after gaining it. Why? Is it a poorer team than India? Does it adapt even more poorly to foreign condition than Indian players? And what was all that brouhaha after the so very good English team beat a poor/average Indian team at its home, not in India? I hope you get the point now.