As a signal that England were no longer prepared to tolerate physical and mental flabbiness, Ian Bell was told to go away and toughen up after his side was bowled out for 51 by West Indies in February, 2009. Two and a half years later, Bell is top of the year's run scoring table with an average in excess of 100 and England is top of the world rankings after successive Ashes series wins and a 4-0 demolition of India. Bell and England will now prepare for fresh challenges with three Tests against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates in January followed by two Tests in Sri Lanka in March. Under the guidance of team director, the former Zimbabwe skipper Andy Flower, and captain Andrew Strauss there is no danger of any complacency seeping into a rigorously professional England structure. The ascent from the ignominy of Kingston to the euphoria of the Oval over a team who arrived in England at the top of the world rankings was plotted by Strauss and Flower after the latter took charge of his adopted country following the series loss in West Indies. The basis of England's success was its bowlers' ability to demoralize the most prolific batting order in Test history who managed only three centuries, each to their supreme technician Rahul Dravid. Ageing superstars, a shallow back-up pool and the national addiction to instant cricket have handed India the rout. It was the tourists' heaviest series defeat in two decades. But there may be worse to come, gloomy pundits argue. India rose to the pinnacle on the back of the combined brilliance of established stars such as Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Venkatsai Laxman, Virender Sehwag, Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh. Two other pillars, Sourav Ganguly and Anil Kumble, have already retired and it won't be long before Tendulkar and Dravid, both aged 38, and Laxman, who turns 37 in November, are gone too. The bowling cupboard too is bare as injury-prone pace spearhead Zaheer and spinner Harbhajan ponder their immediate future and younger bowlers struggle to come to terms with Test cricket. “We were fortunate to have such good players all at one time, but they can't go on forever,” legendary all-rounder Kapil Dev said. “It won't be easy to replace them.” Critics have slammed the BCCI for poor planning, undue emphasis on the lucrative Indian Premier League Twenty20 competition, and a lack of injury management.
