England are cricket’s number one nation
Last updated 9/3/2011 12:06:16 PM
England are cricket’s number one nation
England leapfrogged India to establish themselves as the world's number one cricket nation.
Andrew Strauss' team, so ably marshalled by director of cricket Andy Flower, usurped India as the top country as they demolished them for the third time this summer to take the lead they needed to jump from third to top.
Still not satisfied they are now looking for a whitewash against Sachin Tendulkar's humbled team with the fourth test starting at the Oval on Thursday.
England were India's masters in every department of the game with a razor sharp attack supported by excellent fielding and a batting line up that runs right down to James Anderson at number eleven.
It was Anderson who set England on the way to victory by removing Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman inside the first hour of the fourth day in a brilliant spell of swing bowling.
Captain MS Dhoni, who has rediscovered his form with the bat, and Praveen Kumar delayed the inevitable with an entertaining partnership of 75 but Stuart Broad and Tim Bresnan mopped up the tail as India were bowled out for 244.
The English bowlers have not allowed the Indians to reach 300 in any of their six innings.
England's victory by an innings and 242 runs gives them an unassailable 3-0 lead in the series and provides emphatic confirmation of their new status as the best team in the world.
India began the day in a hopeless position, still 486 runs adrift of making England bat again after the home side had scored 710-7 in reply the tourists' 224.
And their predicament worsened when Anderson's first ball of the day was angled across Gambhir, caught his outside edge and was snaffled by Graeme Swann stooping low to his left at second slip.
Even the English supporters at a packed Edgbaston were willing Tendulka to recapture his captivating form to extend the game to a fifth day but on 40, disaster struck as the Little Master was run out backing up a Dhoni drive. Swann got his hand to the ball and deflected it on to the stumps, with replays confirming the bails were off just before Tendulkar was able to ground his bat.
With the crowd - hundreds of them in fancy dress - singing and dancing in the stands, Kumar got into the party mood by smashing Swann into the stands three times.
He cracked 40 off 18 balls before one slog too many picked out Ravi Bopara at cover to leave India eight down.
Andrew Strauss and his team united in a joyous huddle in the middle before shaking hands with the entire India team as they left the field.
After basking in the glory of third straight thrashing of India, England's minds will turn to inflicting a series whitewash when the fourth Test starts at the Oval on Thursday.
ENGLAND SINCE MAY 2009
Beat West Indies 2-0 (home)
Beat Australia 2-1 (home)
Draw 1-1 with South Africa (away)
Beat Bangladesh 2-0 (away)
Beat Bangladesh 2-0 (home)
Beat Pakistan 3-1 (home)
Beat Australia 3-1 (away)
Beat Sri Lanka 1-0 (home)
Lead India 3-0 (home)
RANKINGS AS THEY STAND
England 124
India 119
South Africa 118
Sri Lanka 108
Australia 100
Pakistan 93
West Indies 89
New Zealand 78
Bangladesh 9