England Best The Best

England celebrate victory

England completed a near perfect performance at Lords, winning the first Test against India by the length of the long paddock. The only shortfall in their work was catching behind the wicket, where the skipper was the worst offender, adding to his first innings with an attack of dropsy in the second. The key element of the English game is something we used to see from Australia during their inordinately long run at the top of cricket's supremacy tree and its a truth which can put to death all of those dreadful management seminars we attended in the 1990's. It may sound very David Brent but there is no "i" in team.

Time and again in the five years it has taken England to rebuild since they were mauled 5-0 by one of cricket's best collection of bullies, they have learned the lessons those five floggings afforded them. Most especially, their captain has learned those lessons. England have become a side that is never beaten. Its the Chumbawamba Effect, for as often as they get knocked down, they get up again and in doing so, they don't rely on one or two. Every man in this English outfit can hurt you and if one fails, the next man is likely stand taller for his knocked down mate. In this way, they have improved on the Australian philosophy, which relied too heavily on the miracles that Messiahs like Warne and McGrath could deliver with the ball and Ponting, Waugh and Gilchrist could provide with the bat.

Suresh Raina made 78

At Lords, England lead from the front, surviving on a first day where five or six wickets could easily have been lost. Pietersen typified the approach, swinging like a rusty, broken gate on the first afternoon but surviving to open and close the match on India like a well oiled, precise piece of engineering. Even in the second innings when the top order was gone for less than a hundred and the last of them, Morgan, soon after, Prior and Broad could take 162 from the Indians to set the match on only one course. Sure, India was short staffed but the single most important factor in any game, in any sport, is to take advantage of your opponent's weakness. They bowled in partnerships - another lesson from Australia - and twice removed this quality Indian side on a pitch that was still overly fair for the batsman on the last day. 20 wickets is the mantra Strauss repeats at press conferences, team meetings, down the street shopping, in his quiet moments ... 20 wickets, he says, is the essence of his job.

Jimmy Anderson holds up
the ball to celebrate his 5-65

The last nine of those wickets were found on a final day which had its frustrations for both sides. Gambhir was batting injured, Tendulkar batting sick, Strauss dropped catches and twice wickets would have fallen if the batting pad rap could have been hummed to the third umpire. England still won with more than twenty overs to spare. Jimmy Anderson got the statistical honours but all of the bowlers contributed. Chris Tremlett and Stuart Broad pushed the Indians onto the back foot and once there, Anderson chiefly picked them off. Dravid lasted only  half an hour before playing a poor shot to an Anderson outswinger. Laxman was impressive in his three hour stay but inexplicably pulled a short ball from Anderson straight into Bell's hands at mid wicket as the dinner bell was being hung. Gambhir was done by a Swann arm ball from around the wicket and a really outstanding piece of umpiring from Asad Rauf who picked the pad being hit milliseconds before the bat. Tendulkar left after lunch, levelled by both the great game and great bowling. Raina was batting well, following his first innings duck and any questions whether he belonged ahead oh Yuvraj Singh were answered here. At tea, India were still a chance of holding on as Raina and Dhoni had added 60.

After tea, the new ball ended it. Tremlett made the breakthrough with great assistance from the Indian captain. Dhoni wandered across and played at a ball most Ranchi 4th graders would have left and feathered it to Matt Prior. From there, it was downhill racing with five wickets falling for 35 and India out again for well less than 300.

Chris Tremlett removes MS Dhoni

It would be easy to make excuses for India. Injuries - particularly Zaheer's first day hamstring - made their job much harder but good sides recover from such things. Perhaps, though, they don't recover when they are playing a better side. In the last two years, England have beaten Australia at home and away, West Indies at home and away, Bangladesh at home and away, Pakistan at home and away (sort of), Sri Lanka at home and drawn with South Africa away. They haven't played New Zealand (so what) or India. Leading 1-0 and clearly in the mood for more victories, in just four weeks, England will be the best team in world cricket.  Its been a journey since Stuart Clark hit his pads at the SCG and sent him packing in January 2007 with a series average of 24 but he's a strong man Andrew Strauss and a damned smart one too. Oddly, the legacy of another English captain from long ago, also born elsewhere, will echo deeply in the achievement. Completely opposed in values and temperament, there is never the less much of the steel and cunning of Douglas Jardine in his work and certainly the same dedication to a plan.

Every step since that late afternoon walk in January 2007 has taught him something. In four weeks, he'll know the value of perseverance.