England spinner Graeme Swann says his teammates must not allow their impending ascension to the top spot in the world rankings to go to their heads as they seek to complete a 4-0 Test whitewash of India at The Oval this week. England will be confirmed as the best Test side in the world after the series but Swann believes the team must ensure they complete the job and see off the demoralised tourists. He said: “It’s a nice feeling (to take over the top ranking) – but it’s not what we are focusing on.
“We said before the series it didn’t matter if we got to number one in the world. “It’s about finishing the series well and that is what we are aiming to do at The Oval
“We want to do ourselves justice in the last game – we did that very well in the Ashes. Having retained them we gave our best performance of the series in Sydney in the last game and we are looking to emulate that here.
“It’s the last Test match for a while and it’s a good chance for us to sign off on a winning note.
“We have played some exceptional cricket in the last 18-24 months and it would be a shame if we ruined it all by cruising through this game so let’s make it a really good five days and see what happens.“It wouldn’t be much of a team if we just fell to pieces and threw it all away.”
Swann tells team not to let ranking go to heads
