<p class="x_x_x_news-body"><strong>Andrew Strauss expects a tough series against South Africa – Cricket News Update</strong></p>
<p class="x_x_x_news-body">Andrew Strauss, the England skipper, is expecting a stern competition from South Africa in the series, which starts today at the Oval, and praised the Proteas’ overall strength in the longer version of the sport.</p>
<p class="x_x_x_news-body">Without doubt, England and South Africa are the two best Test teams of the globe these days, making cricket fans expect a fierce battle between the two sides.</p>
<p class="x_x_x_news-body">The three Test matches will be followed by five ODIs and three T20 Internationals, before the two teams begin their bid to clinch the ICC World T20 2012.</p>
<p class="x_x_x_news-body">The Poms will start the series as favourites because of their recent form and home advantage, although both teams look evenly matched on paper.</p>
<p class="x_x_x_news-body">A lot of teams tend to take time to adjust to the English conditions, which are different to most of the cricket playing countries. Strauss however, is of the opinion that the Proteas have the ability to acclimatise much quicker,
which is precisely the reason why they have done reasonably well in England over the years.</p>
<p class="x_x_x_news-body">Despite starting the series with a psychological edge, the left-handed opener knows that beating Graeme Smith and company will not be a walk in the park for the home team.</p>
<p class="x_x_x_news-body">"I've always felt South Africa have adapted to English conditions as well as any other team," the England captain said. “We expect them to be a very stern challenge to us.”</p>
<p class="x_x_x_news-body">The English captain further added that the visitors are an experienced unit, comprising of seasoned players like Jacques Kallis, Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers, Dale Steyn and some others.</p>
<p class="x_x_x_news-body">However, the 35-year-old is confident of his team’s abilities to match South Africa’s brilliance in all three departments of the game and claimed that England are up for the challenge.</p>
<p class="x_x_x_news-body">Strauss expressed, "They have a proud record and have played a lot of good cricket over an extended period of time. They have a lot of experienced campaigners. If we're looking for an easy series then we're barking up the wrong tree.
It's going to be a very stern test for us and one we're very excited about overcoming."</p>
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