Humiliating loss in 2007 behind Strauss’ bid to regain Ashes

LONDON - England captain Andrew Strauss has revealed that humiliation of the last Ashes defeat is the primary force behind his bid to regain the urn.

Michael Vaughan’s side in 2005 had reclaimed the Ashes for the first time in 16 years. However, Australia came back to thrash England 5-0 in the 2007 season, which was the first Ashes whitewash since 1921, the News of the World reports.

“To lose 5-0 in an Ashes series was humiliating and depressing. So that drives you and makes you very determined not to let it happen again. A lot of water has gone under the bridge since then, but to those of us who were there in 2005 and 2007, those were the opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of emotions,” said Strauss.

Strauss, who played in both the tournaments, was awarded an MBE for his heroics in 2005, however, gained only hurt in 2007.

“They were, pretty much, my best and worst days in cricket. We’ve learned our lessons but if we need any more motivation, it’s right there for us. We don’t want to go through that again. You learn things from winning and from losing,” he added.

Meanwhile, Strauss expressed confidence in his team, saying that: “We showed a lot of aggression in our last series against the West Indies and we’ve got some aggressive characters in the side”. Strauss said. (ANI)