Ranking not important to Strauss
January 04, 2012 08:09:24 UK
Andrew Strauss has dismissed England's number one Test ranking as merely 'your name on a piece of paper', as he prepares for the series against Pakistan.
Getting to number one in the rankings is nothing, really. It's your name on a piece of paper.
Andrew Strauss
Strauss and co have risen to the top of the rankings due to comprehensive wins over Australia and India in the last 12 months, but the England Test captain is wary of reading too much into that situation.
He said on arriving in the UAE for the Pakistan Tests: "Getting to number one in the rankings is nothing, really. It's your name on a piece of paper, that's all it is.
"There's always a new challenge ahead of you, this one coming up against Pakistan is a very stern challenge I think, and whenever an England side go to the subcontinent it's a challenge anyway because it requires a different set of skills to win out here.
"This particular challenge comes at a good time for us. We're confident, we've been playing a lot of good cricket recently.
"If we're at all complacent we'll come unstuck pretty quickly."
England are 3.50 to win the series against Pakistan and 1213.00 to triumph by a 1-0 scoreline, with Strauss 10.00 to be his side's leading batsman.
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