LondonJuly 13: Speaking to the media ahead of the much anticipated clash between England and India at Lord’s, England’s Test captain Andrew Strauss likened the series to the historic Ashes.
"This series against India is certainly up there with the Ashes. I think the one thing we have in our advantage over the Ashes is home advantage,” said the Ashes-winning captain as the two teams gear up to do battle at Lord’s on July 21.
Although England lost the three-Test series the last time the two teams clashed against each other here in 2007, Strauss feels that the home advantage would help his side.
"We expect to beat any side at home - and so you should - because it is a substantial advantage. But you only have to look at what India have done in the last two years to know they will be incredibly confident," he observed.
Speaking about the possible pressure of taking on the world’s No. 1 Test side the England skipper said, "They have a lot of good players and are heavily motivated to win. We will have to be at our best if we want to compete with them. We're under no illusions on that, but that excites us.”
"Over the next four Test matches we're more than capable of winning. That motivation of playing against the best side in the world is just what we need at the moment,” said the 34-year old southpaw.
Looking forward to the prospect of facing a top-notch India side he said, "In international cricket, you always need challenges like this. I think we're better equipped than in 2007. We've had a lot of success recently and we're a more competent unit. We've been progressing every series we've played over the last couple of years.”
Strauss, who will lead England in the Tests against India, admitted he was still adjusting to England’s approach of having three different captains for the three formats (Alastair Cook for ODIs, Stuart Broad for Twenty20Is).
What is it like to get back in charge of the Test side? “The simple answer is, I don't know how it will be," he confessed.
"I have seen a few of the lads over the last couple of weeks and it didn't feel particularly different - but we never know how things are going to work out. You can't be sure and it would be arrogant for me to assume that it will be exactly as it was,” he added.
"But it is not like we are doing radically different things. Alastair, myself and Stuart Broad, we are still operating within a general strategy which we have all had a hand in formulating," he explained.
