Swann plays down ranking talk

12 April 2012

Spinner Graeme Swann has urged England not to get carried away by their impending elevation to the top of the world rankings and focus on completing a 4-0 whitewash of India at The Oval this week.

England will be confirmed as the best Test side in the world when the series concludes but Swann believes it is important to concentrate on rounding off a wonderful summer with another victory against the demoralised tourists.

"It's a nice feeling (being a part of the top-ranked side) but it's not what we are focusing on," said Swann. "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."

He added: "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.

"(Coach) Andy Flower and (captain) Andrew Strauss won't be allowing us to rest on our laurels and just glide through this game. They will be keener than ever for us to give 100%.

"It wouldn't be much of a team if we just fell to pieces and threw it all away.

"It's just the first rung on the ladder in cliche terms."

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