Graveney: sub-continent holds the key for England

The next six months will decide if England deserve the tag of being called the best team in the world according to David Graveney, chairman of selectors of the England and Wales Cricket Board. 'We are halfway there, having beaten Australia and won the Ashes. But to become the world's top team, we have to go to the sub-continent and beat Pakistan and India,' said Graveney yesterday. Graveney, who is in Hong Kong as manager of the England team at the Hong Kong Sixes, maintained that Australia - despite their 2-1 loss in the gripping Ashes series in England this past summer - are still the world's number one side. 'They are still ranked number one in the world. The recent Super test proved that they are still a very good team. But England are up there. A mark of a good team is to beat Australia, anywhere, and also to win on the sub-continent. We will need to do this if we are to take on the mantle of being the best in the world,' Graveney said. England leave for Pakistan later this month to play three tests and five one-day internationals. Then in February/March next year, they return to the sub-continent to take on India. 'It is going to be tough in Pakistan. On past history, we have played 21 tests in Pakistan, we have won two and Pakistan have won two and the rest have been drawn. It shows how hard it will be. The spinners will play a big role on the sub-continent,' said Graveney. That was hardly the case in seamer-friendly England when a four-pronged attack - Steve Harmison, Matthew Hoggard, Andrew Flintoff and Simon Jones - rattled the Australians. The bowling of the pacemen, winning crucial tosses and batting first - brilliantly at stages - and the fact that Australia's Adam Gilchrist failed to score a 50 in the series were all crucial factors for England's triumph in the Ashes, according to Graveney. 'In hindsight, being put into bat at Edgbaston (second test) helped us tremendously. We wanted to bat first so as to avoid playing Warne in the last innings. We batted well and the four fast bowlers bowled superbly as a unit. And I feel getting such a match-winner like Adam Gilchrist out cheaply during the series was also crucial,' Graveney pointed out. Flintoff, bowling round the wicket to the hard-hitting Gilchrist, claimed his wicket four times during the series. It showed that England had done their homework - a fact Graveney vouches for. 'In Michael Vaughan we have a very astute captain. He had an outstanding series as a captain and his leadership rubbed off on the rest of the players. There was a great sense of belief in the players,' Graveney said. Even Graveney believed in them when everyone thought that the Aussies would go on to win 5-0 after the first test annihilation by 239 runs at Lords. He refused to follow popular opinion and stuck to his guns, saying England would win the series 2-1. 'Maybe I could be a fortune-teller,' laughed Graveney. 'England didn't play well at all in the first test. We dropped a lot of catches. But I was confident that we could still bounce back despite the huge loss. And of course [Glenn] McGrath was missing in the second test.' England bounced back to win a thriller by two runs at Edgbaston and that impetus continued as they played some wonderful cricket to wrest the Ashes back for the first time in 18 years. And the amazing thing was that England stuck with the same squad for all five tests barring one change due to injury - Simon Jones missing the last test due to an ankle injury. 'He was missed. If he had been available, it would have been a record for England to go through a series without making changes,' Graveney smiled. At least his job, as a selector, was made easier. Jones has still not recovered from an operation on his ankle and will miss the Pakistan tour. But Graveney hopes that Jones will be fit for selection when the Indian tour comes along. While everything looks rosy for English cricket at the moment, Graveney says the next goal - apart from winning on the sub-continent - will be to win the World Cup in 2007. 'We have not performed as well as we could have in the last couple of World Cups and we are building towards that now. In this context, England's A tour of the Caribbean in March will be crucial,' said Graveney, looking forward to going on that tour in the hope of unearthing fresh talent. 'There is a feel-good factor in England at the moment. Everyone is upbeat. The Ashes was an epic series and it did cricket a great deal of good, not only in England, but everywhere. But as far as who is number one, I still think Australia are on top. But all that could change this winter.'