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| November 12, 2006 | Sunday | Shawwal 19, 1427 |
Bring it on, England tell NSW’s Test attack
SYDNEY, Nov 11: England vice-captain Andrew Strauss says he welcomes the prospect of facing a Test-strength New South Wales bowling attack to help the tourists recover from a disastrous tour opener before facing Australia in the Ashes Test series.Opener Strauss said England have a point to prove in the three-day game against NSW, starting at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Sunday, after Friday's 166-run capitulation to the Prime Minister's XI in Canberra.
Strauss was one of three England batsmen shown up by short-pitched balls in Canberra, but has dismissed suggestions the tourists will struggle against the rising ball during the five-Test Ashes series, which gets underway in Brisbane on November 23.
He said they would not shy away from a NSW attack, featuring Test pacemen Glenn McGrath, Brett Lee, Stuart MacGill, Stuart Clark and Nathan Bracken.
The quintet boast 984 Test wickets between them and will be out to keep the pressure firmly on England ahead of the first Test.
Strauss said the NSW bowlers would be chasing England scalps, but could also help the tourists regain their edge.“The Aussies no doubt are going to want to claim a scalp, they're going to want to beat us quite desperately,” Strauss told reporters here Saturday.
“We've got a bit of a point to prove after yesterday, you don't play an uncompetitive games over here. “They've (the NSW bowlers) all played a lot of Test cricket and that (attack) is as strong as you get.
“That's brilliant for us, it's great to have a look at them before the Test and it's great also to tune yourself into Test match psyche.
“To really get mentally right in a similar way to how you would approach a Test match, it's great for us.”Strauss, Alastair Cook and Kevin Pietersen were all out to mis-timed pull shots, but Strauss dismissed claims England's batsmen would struggle against the short ball on this tour.
He said although Australian wickets were quicker than English pitches, it would only take the tourists a few innings to familiarise themselves to the conditions and then play instinctively. “You've just got to play the conditions,” he said. “Sometimes when the ball's old it is possible to take on that really short one, but generally in this part of the world the pull shot and the cut shot are generally productive.
“The hook shot is a little more risky and it's just a question of making sure you judge which one to hit and which one not to.”
England and NSW have agreed to play 14 players during the three-day match, which will not have first-class status, but only 11 players a side can bat. —AFP
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