Hoggard ready to move on from the Ashes

Matthew Hoggard bowled endless numbers of overs in England's last tour of India in 2001-02 © Getty Images

Matthew Hoggard is ready to help England prove they have the ability to beat the best, as he and his team-mates prepare for their tour of India. England fly out for the second leg of their subcontinent winter on Sunday.

Hoggard joined his Ashes-winning team-mates on Thursday at Buckingham Palace to meet the Queen, and attend an official ceremony to mark their inclusion in the New Year's Honours List. Yet while the perks, fame and celebrity status England's cricketers have been afforded since last September have been welcomed, Hoggard is keen to draw a line under the 2005 Ashes and help England progress as a team - especially after their 2-0 loss to Pakistan late last year.

"You can't live on the past," he told reporters. "Yes, we had a great summer and we've put cricket in the limelight, but we've got to keep it there by putting in the performances and keeping winning. We didn't do that in Pakistan so we're looking to put that right in India."

Although it was widely acknowledged that England would have their work cut out in Pakistan, few expected England to lose 2-0. Of course, since then, Pakistan have been a team rejuvenated - including a stunning victory over India in the recent Test series - while England have had a much-needed break from playing.

"Pakistan was a big learning curve for us, but we can take out the positives from it," he insisted. "We played some very good cricket and in the first Test we should have cantered home and be comfortable winners. The pressure got to us that day, but the experience for our middle-order batsmen in playing on the sub-continent will have been valuable.

"We've got a very inexperienced middle order who hadn't played in the sub-continent before and I think the three Tests in Pakistan will stand them in good stead for India because they'll know more what to expect and what sort of shots they can play to score runs out there.

"Having more or less the same squad from Pakistan should help because we can take that experience over to India and pull together as a unit."

Hoggard's first breakthrough came in England's last tour of India in 2001-02 where he bowled his heart out in thankless conditions. "If I've got a lot of work to do that must mean that I'm bowling well," he said. "It's going to be a very hard tour.

"We know how talented and how good the Indians are and we're going to have to be at on top of our game to challenge them. They're almost unbeatable at home so we know it's going to be a very tough tour and I'm sure we'll be putting together some plans and looking to put them into practice.

"Playing Australia anywhere is very difficult because they're never out of the game, but India's home record is second to none and it's one of the more difficult places to go, particularly because of the differences in culture, food and the way the country is set up."