Strauss deserves his chance to celebrate after England topple India as world’s No 1

A party was about to get started, and who could blame them for letting off some celebration steam?

England are the best Test cricket team in the world and if anyone deserves a drink or two, then it is Strauss and his team of talented superstars.

By signing off the series against India with an innings and eight runs victory yesterday, they not only sealed a 4-0 whitewash, they also signalled an intent not to just sit back and bask in their glory.

Already assured of the No 1 spot having won the third Test, it could have been so easy for them to coast through the final episode of the summer, knowing their job has been done. But this England team is something special, and 3-0 was never going to be enough with the prospect of 4-0 on the horizon.

And when it seemed the whole world was willing Sachin Tendulkar to finally score his 100th international hundred, England had other ideas; Tim Bresnan denying the Little Master on 91 and proving there is no room for emotion or sentiment in this England squad.

It augurs well for the future as England now face Pakistan and South Africa in the next 12 months knowing they will need to be at their best to hang on to top spot.

The signs are there that coach Andy Flower will not let them relax. Celebrate today, yes. Party in the knowledge that this job has been done, yes. But much like the way in which they came back after the Ashes win Down Under over the winter, this England side will be hunting more success once the celebrations of this series have died down.

And what a series it has been for England. They arrived at Lord’s with India sitting proudly at the top of the Test tree and everyone questioning whether England would be good enough to topple them. Most believed the home side good enough to win, many felt they could do enough to snatch the No1 tag from their rivals, but few could have foreseen the carnage that followed.

Indeed, the stats of the series prove just how comprehensive a victory it was.

During the four Tests, England scored ten 50s and seven hundreds, of which three went on to become double hundreds. India only managed eight 50s and the three centuries scored by Rahul Dravid. England, only batting six times, declared in four of them and totalled 2809 for the loss of just 47 wickets at an average of 468 per innings. India batted eight times, lost 80 wickets and could only muster 2044 runs.

There was similar domination with the ball as England’s bowlers took four five-wicket hauls between them and saw Stuart Broad snap up 25 victims, while India in contrast had no five-wicket hauls and their most dangerous bowler Ishant Sharma only snared 11 batsmen. Throw in a hat-trick from Broad and you can see why Strauss and his players deserved their celebratory pint or two last night.

Tougher tests will come around in the not-too-distant future, especially when South Africa tour here next summer.

But the future is looking bright. England are still looking hungry and you get the impression that they are not finished yet.