COLOMBO: Andrew Strauss heads home from Asia confident his future as captain is secure after England ended a miserable run in Tests by beating Sri Lanka to draw the series and retain their number-one ranking.
The tourists eased to an eight-wicket win in the second and final Test at the P. Sara Oval in Colombo on Saturday to make amends for the 75-run loss in the first Test in Galle, which was their fourth straight Test defeat this year.
England’s losses, including an embarrassing 3-0 whitewash at the hands of Pakistan in the UAE, had left them teetering on the brink of losing their top ranking.
The one blemish in the hard-fought series against Sri Lanka was Strauss’s own batting form. He made just 114 runs in four innings at an average of 28.50.
But the captain said he had never doubted himself or his leadership role.
“I never had any doubts about whether this was the time for me to go,” said the 35-year-old, a veteran of 94 Tests. “I’m determined and committed to seeing us improve. It’s been an interesting week or two, but we should not get carried away.
“We’ve done that very well over the last couple of years, and obviously I needed to do it in this Test.”
Strauss admitted England had been under pressure after their four consecutive defeats but was delighted the hard work eventually paid off.
“We had to make sure we learnt the lessons. I saw a steely determination on everyone’s part to make sure we finished the winter on a high.”
Published in The Express Tribune, April 9th, 2012.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ