Jonathan Agnew: England are the ultimate professionals

English cricket knows all about over ambitious mission statements and false dawns so now that they are at the top, everyone involved with the transformation of our national team deserves to take a bow.

I am fortunate in that I get to see much of the hard work that goes on behind the scenes. The hours these athletes spend in the gym and working on their skills in the nets.

I can also see clearly the influence of Andy Flower, the coach, who drives the players to challenge themselves and to set new standards while at the same time never losing sight that cricket is only a sport, and that there is always a bigger picture beyond the narrow world of the dressing room.

In 20 years of reporting on the England team, and many more spent within the game, this is the best prepared and most professional group I have seen.

It is impossible to judge the generations in terms of talent and skill because each has to sit in its own context of the game at the time, but dedication and intensity can stand out.

I was struck by how 'in the zone' Stuart Broad appeared to be when marking out his run-up half an hour before play was due to start at Edgbaston. As he paced past me, I said 'good morning' and he simply stared blankly ahead, looking rather like Bob Willis did when he bowled the Australians out at Headingley in 1981.

Only when he had measured his run did Broad trot back to me and return the compliment. If England's bowlers are focused to that extent when merely marking out their run-ups at the start of the day, goodness knows what they must be like during the match itself.

The success of this team is in some ways unusual because it has no standout fast bowler of genuine pace. Most top teams have centred their attack around a spearhead, but in terms of speed James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Tim Bresnan and Chris Tremlett are in the same bracket.

What they bring is controlled hostility in that every ball they deliver asks searching questions of the batsman in the area that is most likely to get him out. There is the occasional bouncer, of course, but ball after ball is relentlessly probing the batsman's off stump which, after a while, builds up intense pressure.

Now they have reached the top, the challenge for this team is to stay there. I was impressed by Kevin Pietersen's comment to me after the match on Saturday in which he immediately pointed his finger at 2005, when England won the Ashes, but then sat back and enjoyed their glory. They were beaten in three of their next five Tests, and lost a series to Pakistan who, coincidentally, are England's next Test opponents. Pietersen spoke determinedly of that lesson having been learned and, besides, the best way of shoring up the top spot is to keep winning games.

That motivational force should be a great benefit to England. They are now the best in the world, and the team that the others will look up to. Their challenge is to play like the No1 in every game while at the same time, improving their skills and setting new standards that the rest will follow. Who knows how long they can remain at the top of the ladder, but of the others I can only see South Africa as a realistic threat - and they tour here next summer.

Essentially for England to remain No1, they must do everything that India, who have now been knocked off their perch, have spectacularly failed to do. What a listless lot they have been, lacking energy and enthusiasm and looking well past their sell-by date. Their fielding has been pathetic - it is like watching a team from decades ago - and the evidence of a team hierarchy in which there is a 'them and us' is all too clear. Sachin Tendulkar has never played much of a part in the field, but these days he simply picks the quietest spot and stands in it.

VVS Laxman's hands are thrust deep in his pockets more than they are out of them and Rahul Dravid also parks himself at slip.

There is no thought for the bowlers at all. At Edgbaston there was the absurd sight of Praveen Kumar and Sreesanth fielding in the most demanding positions at extra cover and cover point respectively. They were both bowling their boots off in a hopeless cause, having been let down again by the senior batsmen who were now grazing in the field, never chasing the ball and showing minimal interest. If Duncan Fletcher, India's coach, needs any persuasion that he must ring the changes, he need look no further than that.