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Botham backs Eng for no.1 spot
Wednesday 27 July 2011

English cricket legend Sir Ian Botham has heaped praise on the English team for beating India in the first Test at Lord’s. The former England all-rounder went on to back the home side to claim the number one spot from MS Dhoni’s side during the ongoing four-match Test series.

"There is little doubt that the current English team are now cricket kings of the world," wrote Ian Botham, in his column in Daily Mirror.

"What we saw at Lord's was the sort of performance you would expect from the best team on the planet and there will be more to come before this series is over.

"At some point, England will take the No.1 title from India officially and then an era of dominance should follow, because we are well ahead of the pack. Every department is covered and without a weak link," he added.

The Englishman was adamant that India stood very little chance of beating England due to their ever-increasing injury list.

"How can India hope to beat us, especially with their injury worries?," asked the 55-year-old.

"And as good as some of India's players have been over many years, I don't see how they can get back into this series against a side as confident as England. And they will get better, because there is a hunger in the dressing room to search for that bit extra." he concluded.

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