Strauss confident of England retaining Ashes

LONDON - England skipper Andrew Strauss is confident his side can retain the Ashes after their innings and 71 run victory in the second Test in Adelaide.

The win puts England 1-0 up in the five-match series with Australia.

“We’re very pleased with what we’ve done in this Test match. There are three matches to go and we can’t get too far ahead of ourselves. If we keep these standards up we have a good chance of winning,” the BBC quoted Strauss, as saying.

“Our batters are getting big scores which is crucial and that’s putting pressure on the opposition. Bowling them out for 245 on a flat wicket was an outstanding effort from Jimmy Anderson [who took 4-51] and the rest of the lads and then we really made hay with the bat,” he said.We didn’t let them back into the game and it was a pretty comprehensive victory,” he said.

Strauss, though, was wary about the team becoming complacent. “We’re very happy with what we’ve done, we’re still pretty conscious that there is a lot of hard work to do but it’s a nice position to be in at the moment,” he said.

“The game of cricket is an odd one and just when you think everything is going your way it can come back and bite you so we’ve got to keep our work ethic high,” Strauss said.

“There is a lot of confidence in the group and that’s a fantastic position to be in but if we start getting a little bit complacent, thinking it is just going to happen, that’s going to allow Australia back in the series,” he said. (ANI)