Wicketkeeper-batsman Jonny Bairstow has come out and stated, after his side's defeat against Scotland by 6 runs on Sunday, that England is confident of proving their mettle as the number one ranked ODI side in the world and will do whatever they can to retain their tag against Australia in the upcoming 5 match one day series. 

Bairstow, who played a magnificent knock of 105 from just 59 balls in the losing cause, was quoted saying, "It's part and parcel of the game, You get to number one and people are going to want to beat you, but you want to be number one in the world. We set our stall out to be number one in the world and that's where we are, whether we were number one in this game or not, Scotland would still be delighted to win, it's not just because we are number one," 

What also makes Bairstow confident and instills belief, is the fact that England won the last series between two arch-rivals in Australia 4-1 this year but he is also cautious and said that this Australian, which is bereft of its usual matchwinners, is a different challenge. 

He said, "It's a completely different challenge and a completely different team that we will be playing, It's a team that has a lot of new guys in, without Starc, Hazlewood, Cummins, Warner, Smith, so there are guys wanting to compete for places and we know just how dangerous that can be when people are pushing for a permanent place."

England's defeat has got the Australian thinking, with left-arm spinner Ashton Agar coming out and saying, "It's great England didn't win (on Sunday) because you always like to start with a win, At the end, England didn't really finish the job, They're a really dangerous side, though, and you can't ever take a side like that lightly. We need to bring our A-game and be ready to go."

(Inputs from CricketNext)