Strauss vows to keep up ‘hard graft’

England captain Andrew Strauss is determined not to let his side rest on their laurels as they seek an unassailable series lead when they face West Indies in the second Investec Test.

England head into today’s opening day at Trent Bridge leading the three-match series 1-0 thanks to their five-wicket victory at Lord’s. The world’s No 1 Test side looked on top for large parts of that match, but it was not straightforward against a touring side who had some fine individual performances from the likes of Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Marlon Samuels and Kemar Roach, and Strauss is preparing his side for another tough battle in Nottingham.

“It was very hard work [at Lord’s]. That’s always the case with Test match cricket,” he said. “Often it’s hard work to get on top of the opposition and often it’s hard work to nail that final nail in coffin. The West Indies put up a really good fight.

“There were times when they made life difficult for us and we were relieved to a certain extent to get over the line and win that game, but we’re also aware we have to do it again this week if we want to win.

“It’s all about just keeping our feet on the ground and making sure that we’re willing to do the hard graft necessary to get on top again.”

Alastair Cook and Ian Bell guided England to victory at Lord’s with a fifth-wicket stand of 132 after the hosts had slipped to 57 for four in pursuit of a winning target of 191. Strauss believes that successful run chase will stand his side in good stead for the future and is also pleased most of his players were able to make significant contributions in the victory.

“That target was tricky and there was a time when we were under a bit of pressure and Alastair Cook and Ian Bell dealt with that very well, and that’s very important,” he said. “It’s obviously always important to win in those circumstances and it gives you more confidence going into the next time you face a situation like that.

“There were some really good performances from our side. Obviously Stuart Broad bowled exceptionally well and most of the batters got a score in the game, so I think we’re feeling in pretty good form heading into this match. But, as I said before, we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves – it’s going to be very hard work this week, and matches here are always hard fought.”

Strauss scored his first Test century in 18 months with his 122 in the first innings, but he knows he cannot rest on that success. He said: “As I said at the time, it was a bit of a monkey off my back because people kept talking about it. But I’m obviously more conscious than ever that I need to contribute consistently, it’s not just about getting one score, it’s doing it again and I’ll be aiming to do that this week.”

Meanwhile, West Indies captain Darren Sammy does not intend to abandon the side’s current philosophy despite criticism from the likes of Michael Holding and Ramnaresh Sarwan. Many of the problems affecting the depleted touring team are down to individual player disputes with the West Indies Cricket Board – with the likes of Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo and Sunil Narine all missing from the current squad.

Sammy and coach Ottis Gibson have also been lambasted, with Holding being openly critical of the former’s place in the team and the latter’s man-management style. But Sammy believes in what the pair are doing, which amounts to a bottom-up overhaul of the central tenets of Caribbean cricket.

“Coach Gibson and myself are trying to build something for the future here,” he said.