Teams will come hard at us now: Prior

Having dethroned India as the number one Test team with a power-packed performance in the ongoing series, wicketkeeper Matt Prior said his side should now brace up for being challenged like never before because of the newly-acquired tag.

"We have reached number one but now we have to stay there and improve, starting with this winter's challenges on the sub-continent," Prior wrote in 'The Daily Telegraph'.

"We have Test series' against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates early in the New Year and then a tricky two Test series in Sri Lanka early in the spring, but the planning started long ago."

Prior said he expects international teams to come hard at England, given their new status.

"When you play the number one team in the world you want to beat them. You up your game and people will be targeting us.

"That brings a certain pressure, but we have not allowed the previous number one team in the world, India, to even compete with us in this series, which is a fantastic sign," he said.

Prior lavished praise on his team's batsmen for putting up huge individual scores which have resulted in mammoth totals for the side.

"They just put pressure on every bowler. It didn't matter which bowler MS Dhoni turned to, they just took the attack to him and by the end of our innings you could see the Indians were pretty disheartened.

"It is our job to keep them there and down for as long as possible, and that is the way we want to play as we aim to remain the best for a long time," he said.