“So long as you are winning and doing the right things, ratings take care of themselves,” Dhoni said after India’s innings and 242-run defeat in the third Test at Edgbaston. “We are not too worried about it. Of course, there may be some fans who will be worried about the fact that we are not the number one side now.
But the number one spot isn’t something you own, it’s something you earn because of one year or two years of good, consistent cricket. It’s spot for which others will try to prove themselves as a team and try to dethrone you. It’s a constant process. I won’t like to comment on the other teams as to what they are going to do. But it’s important for us to realise where we are,” remarked the Indian skipper.
Strauss, though, had a completely different view. “It is valuable because everyone wants to be No 1,” he pointed out when asked what it meant to be number one side.
“You’d be mad if being No 1 wasn’t a goal of yours as a side, but 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,” he explained.
Strauss said his entire team had been told about it (number one) being their big goal but after having achieved their goal, he stressed on maintaining that position. “Just because the rankings tell us we’re No 1 doesn’t mean our job’s over,” he noted.
“There’s a huge task ahead of us to stay No 1. We have to compete every series we play in and win as many series as possible. We were very determined in this series, we felt we had a good chance of winning in our conditions, and I am proud of the way we played. These are big series and you either come out smelling of roses or it doesn’t go your way,” observed the left-hander.