Strauss plans era of 'trust'

by S M February 04, 2009

"There have been plenty of new dawns over the last few years. But the reality is we have pretty much got the same bunch of players who've been playing for a while now. We all want to see us play more consistently and see the players reach their potential. We haven't quite got there and we will be pushing hard to try to get that high level of consistency over the coming weeks and months," said New captain Andrew Strauss.

"We have to trust players to take responsibility for their own performances. If that works well they will start pushing themselves a little bit harder," he said.

"I have always had a feeling that if you're told what to do all the time there is a slight inkling of resentment there, and that maybe doesn't allow you to reach your potential.”

"A lot of it is going to be about playing together as a group, dovetailing well, and reacting well in pressure situations - and winning the important sessions," he added.

"There is obviously a pressure on us there to go out and perform well; we recognise that and are pretty comfortable with where we are and looking forward to it," he said.

"He has come through practice very well and we are confident he will be playing," Strauss said.

"It is not rocket science to say that a five-man bowling attack gives you more options and you only win Test matches by taking 20 wickets, so I think that should be your priority. But at the same time there is also that balance there, isn't there? You need to get enough runs on the board," he added.

"But that is where Fred is so important for us because he allows us the luxury of playing a five-man bowling attack," the English skipper continued.

"Out of all the bowlers in the world he is up there among the bowlers who batsmen don't like facing, It is a shame to use him too much as a stock bowler," he said.

"He is better than that and if we can take pressure off him in terms of length of spells he bowls, it might help with his injury situation, and we might get more wickets out of him as well," he added.

"But it is all a balancing act. In a Test match you sometimes have to put your theories behind the practicalities of what is actually happening on the cricket pitch at any given time. We have got a good balance now between bowlers that can bowl maidens and bowlers that can go out and blast wickets," he said.

"If your role is a bit more defensive in terms of bowling maidens and putting pressure on the opposition, it doesn't mean you are not going to take five wickets on any given day, it is just the type of bowling you are going to do. Certainly from Fred's point of view it will help his bowling in the next two or three years," he added.

"We need to bowl better, that is the reality, all our bowlers are proven matchwinning bowlers but they need to do it more consistently,"Strauss said.

"And you can argue that about the batting as well, as we haven't passed 400 all that often either, so it is not fair to apportion blame to the bowlers. As a team, as a group of 11 guys, we haven't put in the telling performances when we've needed to, and we need to start doing that pretty quickly," he added.

"We have all proved we can perform well at this level. The extra jump is to do it consistently and when it matters, which is absolutely crucial," the skipper continued.