Monday, August 24, 2009
Strauss savours Ashes win as England captain
Andrew Strauss admitted Sunday's 2-1 Ashes series triumph over Australia was more satisfying than the series win in 2005 when England won the urn for the first time in 18 years.England defeated the Australians by 197 runs at The Oval as Strauss's opposite number Ricky Ponting became the first Australian captain to lose two Ashes series in England for 119 years.
"For me personally I suppose this is more satisfying because I've captained the side, we've moved forward from 2005," he told reporters on Sunday.
"There are different personalities involved, a different management team as well and any time you win an Ashes series it's an unbelievably special moment for all of us."
Strauss led from the front by finishing as the top run-scorer in the series with 474 runs at an average of 52.66, including a best innings of 161 at Lord's where England claimed victory by 115 runs.
That was his sixth test century since the India tour in December when he compiled twin hundreds in Chennai. Such form is a far cry from the time when he struggled for runs in 2006 and 2007 that ultimately led to him being dropped for the Sri Lanka series in the English winter of 2007-08.
He saved his Test career with an innings of 177 in Napier against New Zealand in March 2008 and has not looked back since.
"It seems such a long way off," Strauss said. "I was struggling with my game, I was kind of in a pretty negative mindset about worrying about my place in the side and all that sort of stuff."
"I came back and was determined to enjoy every test match I played and that was a bit of a catalyst for me turning my form around. I suppose the captaincy has helped me with my batting. As we've demonstrated, six or seven months in cricket is a long time and things can change pretty quickly."
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