Captain refuses to just sit back and celebrate

When Kevin Pietersen held a near undroppable chance at gully off Tim Bresnan to complete an innings victory over India, and therefore usurp those opponents at the top of the International Cricket Council Test rankings, Edgbaston rose as one to acclaim England’s achievement.

Strauss and coach Andy Flower have overseen a remarkable transformation in the cricketing fortunes of the country which invented the sport yet was languishing near the foot of that ICC table just two-and-a-half years ago.

It was at that point Strauss inherited the captaincy from Kevin Pietersen, and Flower his permanent role soon afterwards.

Ashes victories home and away have followed, and England’s 3-0 success to knock table-toppers India off their perch is their sixth in succession since they managed only to draw in South Africa in 2009/10.

Strauss could have merely basked in the winning aura as plaudits poured his way from all sides – including Prime Minister David Cameron and ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat.

But instead he sought to articulate in context what England have so far managed, how they have done it, and how they are planning to stay on top of the world.

“We’re very proud of the way we’ve performed in the three games; we’ve been very close to our best, so we are very satisfied with what we’ve achieved and delighted to have gone to No 1 ourselves,” he said. “These are big series, and you either come out smelling of roses or it doesn’t go your way. But just because the rankings tell us we’re No 1, that doesn’t mean our job’s over. There’s a huge task ahead of us to stay No 1. It can go away as quickly as it arrives, so you can’t just sit there patting yourself on the back too much.

“You’ve got to keep looking forward. That’s the nature of international sport.”