Strauss: England can win this series
ENGLAND captain Andrew Strauss believes his side are capable of a miraculous comeback victory in their one-day series against Australia after finally getting off the mark at the fourth attempt in Adelaide.
Inspired by a century from Jonathan Trott, who also picked up two wickets, England recorded a victory by 21 runs and now trail 3-1 in the best of seven series.
The two teams renew hostilities in Brisbane on Sunday and Strauss is confident that an Australian series win remains far from a forgone conclusion.
“I don’t see any reason why not,” said Strauss when asked if England could win the next three matches.
“Trott’s hundred was a very high quality innings and we probably could have got more than our 299.
“That is generally defendable here but the bowlers did a really good job.”
If England are to pull off a remarkable act of escapology they will hope Matt Prior’s breezy 67 from 58 balls, following two successive ducks, is not a flash in the pan.
“Matt showed his attributes with shots down the ground and put the Australian bowlers under pressure,” Strauss said. “We will be looking for more of that in the final three games but he’s relieved to have contributed.”
Meanwhile, Trott’s well placed 102 was an answer to the critics who have suggested he scores too slowly to bat at No3, while the bowling of Paul Collingwood and Mike Yardy, which will be vital in curtailing attacking batsmen in the subcontinent at the upcoming World Cup, functioned well for the first time in this series.
“When you’re chasing 300 you can’t afford to have the brakes applied but that’s what our bowlers did to the Australians and that led to wickets,” added Strauss.