With a 4-0 victory over the beating India in the Test series which concluded in August 2011, Britain became the team test new No.1. And that too by moving the current No. 1 team in India.So now, England are on top of the version the longest and shortest of the game (remember they are the defending champions of the T-20 World Cup).All this was not sudden. It was, after many ups and downs. Actually lower rather than higher. Not long ago, England has not been effective and has a very contradictory side. Also there was a period in 2007-2008 when captaincy was a major problem. Michael Vaughan, Andrew Flintoff, Paul Collingwood and Kevin Pietersen - the whole of England has led to some point of time.This resulted in England becoming a very unstable side. In such a situation to become the number one test team in the world would not have been possible without a change.
The turnaround began in 2009. In January 2009 Andrew Strauss was appointed captain after Kevin Pietersen resigned from the captaincy. Although his appointment was welcomed Captain Strauss career did not begin on a positive note. He began his career as a captain losing the Test series against West Indies in the Caribbean. It sounded like the change of captain did not change the fate of the English team. But anyway Andrew Strauss was able to bring the team together and focus on one goal - the goal of winning the Ashes (2009). This orientation has been a player like Stuart Broad refused a lucrative IPL. Although some England players do not appear in the IPL 2009, it did not affect their preparation for the ashes. It was evident in the discipline of their players have shown, especially the bowlers. English Bowling has really lifted the team.The victory of the 2009 Ashes series helped the English team to scale a new height in the world of cricket. To the performance that England was the series very contradictory in any form of the game. After the 2009 Ashes series the team began to push for the top position in Test cricket.
What makes the success of the England Test cricket special is that they had little success in the recent past to draw on. Unless the Ashes win of 2005 there was nothing they could boast of before or after. And the joy of triumph in 2005 was canceled in the 2006-07 Ashes series Down Under. Very stung by the defeat in 2005, Australia quickly put England in their place a 5-0 whitewash in the Ashes series 2006-07. Thus the magic and joy of the victory of England Ashes was short-lived.
But this story is not repeated in 2010-11 Ashes series. After winning the ashes at home in England in 2009 did not let the ash slide when they visited Down Under. Continuing their good run in Test cricket in England humiliated Australia with a 3-1 victory. With the win the English team really began staking their claim in the first position in the cricket test. It was nothing short of a miracle for a team that was nowhere among the best teams a year and a half ago to be on the verge of becoming the number one team. But the success of England made an interesting analysis vis-à-vis India.
England had no such luxury. Only a miracle could have taken this position. And the miraclehappened as the captain Andrew Strauss and coach Andy Flower. Both of them deserve credit for the success of England. But there is one important factor that changed the destiny of this team. Former England captain Michael Atherton in "opening" his autobiography wrote about the difference between English and the Australian team. He cited "pride" that the critical factor in the success of Australia. He says he always felt the English players were low on pride when it came to play for their country. He said one of the main reasons for the failure of England was the lack of pride and motivation while playing at international level.The current team is certainly in English showing a different attitude. There is no shortage of pride.There is no lack of spirit and there is an abundance of positive attitude. This is evident by the factthat they play aggressively particularly during the bowling. Strong bowling department has played the most crucial of their birth to the number one position. Again, this is something contrary to the Indian team. Batting hitter and too aggressive (since Virender Sehwag opened the sleeves!) Was responsible in large measure to the success of India. Indian batting prowess was able to not only win games but also cover a relatively small bowling.
