Strauss wary of wounded Australia by CricketArchive Staff Reporter

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Player:	AJ Strauss
Event:	Australia in British Isles 2009

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DateLine: 28th July 2009

 

England skipper Andrew Strauss is getting ready for an Australian fightback when the series resumes at Edgbaston on Thursday.

 

Despite the optimism that has swept through the camp after the win at Lord's, Strauss refused to underestimate an Australia side that looks totally out of sorts.

 

"We fully expect an Aussie backlash and this Test match will be harder than the two we've played so far," he said.

 

"We're excited to be ahead but know that can change very quickly.

 

"We're very happy with the way we played at Lord's - it's one of the better England performances I've been involved with, from one to 11.

 

"You gain a huge amount of confidence from winning an Ashes Test and there's a good feeling in the squad, but you can't let that become complacency.

 

"It didn't feel easy at Lord's - things looked dicey at times in Australia's second innings.

 

"The last five or six months we've put in some good performances and have been quite clinical when we've been on top so I was very confident that we'd get over the line.

 

"We know what's at the end of the rainbow - if we play three good Tests we could win an Ashes series which as a captain is hugely exciting.

 

"From a team's point of view it's a significant step forward in terms of our development."

 

As far as Andrew Flintoff is concerned, Strauss expects him to be fit to face Australia in Birmingham where England will attempt to establish a 2-0 series lead.

 

"All the indications so far are that Andrew will be fine for Edgbaston," he said.

 

"We need to see how he goes over the next couple of days during practice.

 

"But at this stage we are very confident that he will be ready and obviously he will want to build on his performance at Lord's.

 

"He's very keen to play in the remaining three Tests and will do everything he can to make sure he's available for those."