Strauss: Beware wounded Australia

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Confidence levels have soared after England wrapped up their first victory over Australia at Lord's for 75 years, a result which has nudged them into a 1-0 series lead. But despite the optimism that has swept through the camp, Strauss refuses to underestimate an Australia side that has clearly lost its aura.

"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."