England clinch NatWest Series: Andrew Strauss happy with healthy competition within team
Andrew Strauss had all the reasons to smile after the 3rd ODI against Bangladesh. England thrashed the Bengalis in the final one-day international at Edgbaston as Strauss led the team from the front by scoring a personal best of 154 runs. England clinched the NatWest Series with a brilliant 144-run victory as Bangladesh was completely decimated in the last match. The partnership between Strauss and Trott was instrumental in setting up a massive target for the Bengali Tiger’s who were completely helpless against the onslaught from the English captain. Andrew and Jonathan Trott shared a partnership of 250 runs, allowing England to reach a mammoth total of 347 runs. The English captain was named as the man-of-the-match along with earning the man-of-the-series title for the series. The NatWest series also saw England going down in a shocking defeat against Bangladesh in 2nd ODI of the NatWest Series. Consequently, England had to win the third ODI in order to maintain normalcy. Strauss had earlier criticised the English batting for the failure against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Bangladesh-c747 and had asked for a cutting edge performance from his players in the next match. England has successfully answered to their embarrassing defeat with a stellar performance in the 3rd ODI.
While talking to the media, Andrew claimed, “It was a good way to bounce back after Bristol. We were obviously very disappointed with our performance there and wanted to put it right today”. Strauss explained that he felt in good form throughout the one-day series but needed to translate his good form into a big innings. He stressed on the need to build big partnerships in order to provide a launch pad for the last ten overs. He further added that they still have to improve in some departments of the game and remove some minor errors. “You can still improve. All of us are trying to do that. There are a lot of errors we can still improve on but its an exciting to be part of the squad at the moment”, he added.
Jonathan and Andrew came together with just four balls being bowled and only one run on the scoreboard after http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Craig-Kieswetter-c51708 was bowled in the first over by Mortaza. This was the only moment for Bangladesh to celebrate because what followed was a complete English show. Bangladesh was all out for a modest 203 runs while chasing England’s 347. Andrew and Trott achieved the highest sixth wicket partnership in the history of ODI’s.
The match saw some quality performances from the English cricketers who were making a comeback to the national side. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Ajmal-Shahzad-c42489 replaced James Anderson for the final one-day match and impressed the selectors with his aggressive effort with the ball. Ajmal picked up two wickets before tweaking his hamstring. Shahzad picked up two wickets in just four overs.
Ravi Bopara replaced the injured Ian Bell for final ODI. Ravi was impressive with his unbeaten 45 runs in the middle order. Jonathan Trott also scored heavily in the last game with a confident looking 110 runs. The English selectors will face a dilemma over the selection since some new picks have worked out well. Ian Bell in the first ODI scored a nerveless 84 not out. Trott has cemented his position in England’s international side with this batting display as Ian Bell is out of the national team for the time being. A fit Ian Bell will force more competition in batting line-up since Kevin Peterson will also be making his comeback after he was rested for the Bangladesh series.
English captain Andrew Strauss believes this healthy competition is a good sign for English cricket. Strauss said it’s good to have more options for different players than to be dependent on the same eleven players. “We are going to need a squad at the World Cup, and it's a good thing we've got a lot of guys saying: 'I'm ready to be picked, I'm dying to be picked'. We're in a much better position at the end of the series than the start of it”, he added.
England’s next assignment will be against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746. England’s recent performances prove that they will fancy their chances for next year’s ODI World Cup in the sub-continent in 2011.
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