By James Anderson
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Not wishing to jump the gun, but I feel a series victory here in India would be every bit as much of an achievement as our last Ashes series win in Australia.
Then we tried to use the fact that England had not won Down Under for 24 years as a major part of our motivation. Before this tour started we kept hearing that no England side had won a series in India since 1984-85. I can?t say it occupied our every waking moment but, once you hear about it, it gets inside you and drives you on.
Twenty-seven years without success here is longer than some of our team have been alive and if we secure the result we believe we are capable of it would be huge, right up there with what we managed on the 2010-11 Aussie tour.
A long wait: David Gower last led England to a series win in India in 1985
Not that history has been the only thing pushing us. After our wake-up call in the first Test in Ahmedabad and talk of losing 4-0, that we couldn?t play spin and that we would struggle out here, we were fired up to prove people wrong.
We also have that extra spur of wanting to get back to the world No 1 spot. We didn?t do ourselves justice when we reached that position in 2011 so we?re trying to find the form we had when we were chasing it.
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?People say the turning point in this series was Alastair Cook?s 176 in the second innings in Ahmedabad. Talk about leading from the front, that was exactly how to do it: to show us how to score runs out there.
Even Kevin Pietersen, whose natural game is completely different, said when he collected the man-of-the-match award for his brilliant innings in Mumbai that watching Cooky made him realise that if you take time to get in and are more watchful up front, it can set you up for a big innings.
That?s what KP took from Cook in that first Test and it had a real knock-on effect, not just with the batsmen but with everyone in the team. When you see someone showing that level of skill and performing that well, it makes you want to showcase your own skills.
He set a standard everyone wants to aspire to. I know the captain?s broken a lot of records this week and he?s going to break many more. His composure and ability to? maintain his rhythm and concentration for so long is uncanny. I heard he?s batted for 26 hours in the series, perspiration-free, and I have no idea how he manages it.
Different class: Alastair Cook's record-breaking week has been an inspiration to everyone in the England camp (FILE IMAGE)
I presume he has his own methods and someone mentioned recently that they saw him take a little walk after some deliveries, maybe to switch on and off between balls. I?ll try to remember that when I?m approaching my next Test hundred!
As for me, after I got Sachin? Tendulkar out in the first innings, for the eighth time in my career, people have drawn attention to my record against him. I can?t deny that I have taken huge satisfaction that I share the record for the number of times I?ve got him out in Test cricket. It does not affect how I intend to bowl from now on, but it will be a nice thing to bore the grandchildren with, even more so if I manage to get him again in Nagpur.
I remember all of the eight dismissals, but the first stands out, in Mumbai in 2006, not just because of who he was but also that we went on to win the Test and draw the series.
Special moment: England cheer James Anderson's first dismissal of Sachin Tendulkar six years ago
Talking of records, my mate Graeme Swann has taken more Test wickets than anyone else in 2012. I don?t want him to get carried away so all I?ll say is he?d better get a few more in Nagpur because Rangana Herath, who he has just overtaken, will be bowling for Sri Lanka in? Australia on Boxing Day.
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