Andrew Strauss upbeat about Sydney Test
England captain Andrew Strauss is confident of winning the Test series against Australia 3-1, after they won the Ashes series by winning the fourth Test in Melbourne.
Strauss, who has become the sixth English captain to win the Ashes in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746, claimed that the team had no big New Year celebrations despite the enormity of their achievement after a long gap of 24 years.
"We had some quite big celebrations in Melbourne after winning the Test and rightly so because the guys deserved that," said Strauss. He however added, "But we got to Sydney and had a fairly moderate New Year if I'm honest. It's definitely
a case of us keeping our feet on the ground and preparing for the Test match. There is no way we want Australia to win this Test match and draw this series."
Meanwhile, Strauss stated that the current tour to Australia has been one of the easiest of his life - not in terms of on field action - but because there was hardly any controversy surrounding the team. England came into the Ashes off
the back of a home Test series against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755, where a spot-fixing scandal involving the visiting side made things difficult for the hosts.
He however added that the biggest challenge was complacency, "We've not really had any issues off the park. We generally play good cricket. The biggest challenge has been to keep the guys' feet on the ground and make sure we don't get ahead
of ourselves. If that's what you're worried about as captain, you know things are going your way.”
Strauss attributed the success of the team to the spirit in the camp under the guidance of support staff led by http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Andrew-Flower-c44362, who has been the unsung hero in the triumph.
England is set to name the same side for the Sydney Test, as the one that took the field in the fourth Test in Melbourne. The English are not expected to play two spinners, despite the reputation of the Sydney track and the presence of
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Monty-Panesar-c2024 in the squad.
Panesar is yet to make an appearance in the series, as the number one spinner in the team Graeme Swann has performed brilliantly throughout the series, playing important roles in the wins in Adelaide and Melbourne. The English pacers have
also done remarkably well with the likes of James Anderson, Chris Tremlett and Tim Bresnan playing their roles brilliantly.
While Anderson has played in all the matches thus far, Tremlett and Bresnan have had limited roles yet have performed well. Tremlett was the best English bowler on the bouncy WACA strip which hosted the third test. He carried his form into
the Melbourne Test, where he grabbed four wickets to help England skittle the hosts out for just 98 runs.
Bresnan took two wickets in the first innings at Melbourne, and followed that with a haul of four wickets in the second innings of the only Test he has played in the series thus far.
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