Andrew Strauss will run the rule over Australia ahead of the Ashes when he sits out next month's World Twenty20.

Strauss did not make himself available for the competition but intends to put the time to good use in preparation for the First Test against Australia, which begins in Cardiff on 8 July.

After leading England to a 2-0 victory over West Indies in the NatWest Series, sealed with a 58-run win in yesterday's third and final one-day international at Edgbaston, Strauss said: "It will be interesting to see how they are playing.

"It is more about studying their techniques and making sure we're prepared for them, and that we've got the plans in place come the First Test, even though it will be hard to draw any definite conclusions as Twenty20 and Test cricket are very different.

"I've already spoken to coach Andy Flower about various aspects, and we'll continue to do that over the coming weeks.

"For an Ashes series, you want to be as prepared as you can possibly be. There is a lot more attention and expectation surrounding it, but the cricket isn't radically different from any other Test series. We have already done a fair amount of planning and we need to take that to the final stage."

England will continue to assess the fitness of Andrew Flintoff, whose recovery from knee surgery could see him miss the World Twenty20.

Strauss added: "As with all recuperations, some days go well, and others less so, but we'll know more in the next couple of days."

West Indies captain Chris Gayle goes into the World Twenty20 with his team in disarray and admitted: "The tour has been one of my worst experiences."

Meanwhile, Luke Wright hit 58 and Michael Yardy took three wickets as Sussex beat Surrey by 21 runs in the Twenty20 Cup at the Brit Oval last night. The visitors made 184 for five and restricted the hosts to 163 for nine in reply.