CRICKET: England v IndiaENGLAND HAVE already set new goals after reaching the coveted number one spot in the world rankings at the expense of India who face an unenviable task in the fourth and final Test, which starts this morning.

India, soundly thrashed in the first three Tests, have only pride to play for in a match which a capacity crowd at the Oval will use to acclaim their heroes.

“I always think it is very dangerous to hold on to what you have got,” reflected coach Andy Flower after his team destroyed India in the third Test at Edgbaston.

“We used that goal, to be number one, as a motivational tool that drove us in training and in matches. Now that we have achieved that, what (captain Andrew) Strauss and I don’t want to do is just hang on.

“That’s not a very exciting way to go about our business. We are going to have to reset out goals.

“Now we are ranked number one people will be very hungry to knock us off that perch, there is no doubt about that.

“It is one thing being good for a short period of time but having a side that delivers some special results and has some special times together that they will remember for the rest of their lives, that will be a much better thing to look back on than a few victories here and there.”

India looked a shambles at times in the field in Birmingham but skipper MS Dhoni, who scored two defiantly aggressive half-centuries at Edgbaston, made brave noises after his team’s humiliation by an innings and 242 runs within four days.

“We need to forget about the last three games, try to make the most of the fourth one” he said yesterday. “Take it as a one-Test series so you don’t have the burden of the last three Test matches you have played.”

“We’ve not been sleeping so this is not a wake-up call. It’s not about how easy or hard it is. Whether you win or lose, you need to stick to the basics and keep things simple, whatever the result.

“We will stick to our game plan and hopefully it’ll reflect in our performance. This is a sport, we go through tough times. It’s challenges that make life interesting.”

Strauss expressed optimism yesterday that his leading strike bowler James Anderson will be fit to take his place in the side this morning.

The Lancashire paceman, who took the top four wickets in India’s second innings in Edgbaston, has strained his right quadriceps with Durham’s Graham Onions and Middlesex’s Steven Finn called into the squad as cover.

“We are very optimistic Jimmy is fit to play,” he said. “He had a good bowl today, but like all these things we have to check how he comes up tomorrow morning. It just seems nothing more than a little niggle at this stage.

“We’ve set a precedent of resting players in the past and I think it’s sensible at times to be able to do that, because of the hectic nature of the international schedule and you don’t want bowlers breaking down for important series.

“But we will only be resting players if we’re absolutely sure they need a rest.”

Strauss said England had had to cope with injuries to pace bowlers Stuart Broad and Chris Tremlett.

“That’s always the challenge for you as a side, to make sure you’ve got the strength in depth to be able to mitigate against any sort of injury. If and when we have to deal with that, we’ll deal with it.

“You can’t rely on one person. That’s one of the things that we’ve been good at, we’ve not relied on one or two people to win us a Test match. We’ve had performances from all 11 and when we’re missing a player it’s important the guy coming in can fill that role.”