Strauss turns focus to Lord's - Sport in brief - Evening Standard
       

Strauss turns focus to Lord's

Andrew Strauss will turn his attentions to Lord's later this week as a relieved man intent on improving England's performance for their next confrontation in the Ashes series.

England captain Strauss admitted the immediate emotion was one of relief after watching last pair James Anderson and Monty Panesar repel 69 deliveries to hang on for a draw during Sunday's thrilling final day of the opening Test in Cardiff.

"There was a huge amount of relief in the dressing room and a lot of pride in how those guys played - the second half of the order really stood up to be counted," admitted Strauss.

"There is a lot of pride in what they achieved, but more than anything there was relief in getting through the game and we're still 0-0 going into the Lord's Test match.

"We are relieved we came away with a draw, but we're not going to pretend we're happy with the way we performed this week. We were down on where we needed to be and Australia showed us they're going to be a tough nut to crack and we need to get better."

Anderson and Panesar finished off the job begun by Paul Collingwood, who battled for 343 minutes for his 74, and supported by Andrew Flintoff, Stuart Broad and Graeme Swann to save the game after they seemed destined for an emphatic defeat when they slipped to 70 for five.

England's selectors will seek the views of Strauss and coach Andy Flower on Monday morning before they announce the squad for Thursday's next Test at Lord's, where they have not beaten Australia since 1934.

"The wicket was still very flat (in Cardiff) and as the guys lower in the order proved, there were a lot of ways of staying in there but we didn't manage to find them and in that respect we have to learn a lesson from it," said Strauss.

"If we're honest with ourselves we need to learn from how we batted in the first innings. To score 336 for seven on the first day in hindsight wasn't a brilliant effort and as batsmen we've got to take that on the chin and be determined to come out and make amends the next time we play."

Probable England squad: AJ Strauss (Middlesex, capt), AN Cook (Essex), RS Bopara (Essex), KP Pietersen (Hampshire), PD Collingwood (Durham), MJ Prior (Sussex, wkt), A Flintoff (Lancashire), SCJ Broad (Nottinghamshire), GP Swann (Nottinghamshire), JM Anderson (Lancashire), MS Panesar (Northamptonshire), IR Bell (Warwickshire), G Onions (Durham).

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