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ANDREW STRAUSS HAPPY WITH HIS BATTING FORM – CRICKET NEWS UPDATE

England’s Test captain, Andrew Strauss, is confident about his form leading to the first of the three-match battle against South Africa at the Oval and vows to carry on from where he left last month in the series against West Indies. The 35-year-old, who had a torrid time with the bat in 2011 and the early part of this year, regained his touch earlier in the season against the Caribbean men, striking two centuries to answer his critics in style. The left-hander has restricted himself to only the longer format of the sport since the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011. Strauss has had an inconsistent run in the previous two years; however, the Poms became the top ranked Test team under his captaincy in 2011. The Middlesex batsman is happy with his recent showings but understands that a player has to start every series with a fresh frame of mind in order to be successful in international cricket, where there is not much room for error. Strauss expressed, "Obviously, I'm pretty comfortable with my form. I got those couple of hundreds against the West Indies and came back and scored a few for Middlesex last week. But it's the start of a new series - and as a batsman, you need to give the bowlers a hell of a lot of respect and work hard to score your runs." South Africa possesses one of the best bowling attacks of the world, in the presence of Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, Vernon Philander and Imran Tahir, who are all game-changers and have the ability to trouble any batting line-up of the world. The English captain completely understands that his batting unit will have to be at their very best to cope with the Proteas’ threat. Despite the controversy related to Kevin Pietersen’s retirement from the shorter formats, Strauss is hopeful that the lanky right-hander will remain a vital cog in the English batting line-up. "Anyone who scores a lot of runs in this series will certainly have deserved to score them," the left-hander added. "Whatever happens with Kevin will play out over the coming weeks and months." Tagged in: cricket, Andrew Strauss, England cricket, Cricket Update, cricket news Test your Cricket knowledge by placing free betting on cricket matches. Get most accurate Cricket betting odds and picks for successful betting.

MAHELA JAYAWARDENE URGES HIS SIDE TO CARRY FORWARD THE MOMENTUM – CRICKET NEWS UPDATE

Mahela Jayawardene urges his side to carry forward the momentum – Cricket News Update After dismantling Pakistan in the recently concluded series, Mahela Jayawardene, the Sri Lankan captain, is all set to deliver the goods against India and wants to carry forward the momentum. The Islanders have struggled at the global arena since Muttiah Muralitharan’s retirement, losing Test series against Australia, Pakistan, England and South Africa in 2011. To make matters worse, Jaywardene’s men failed to win a single fixture in this year’s Asia Cup, held in Bangladesh. The Lankan Tigers however, turned the tables in the series against the Green Shirts and defeated them in ODIs (3-1) as well as in the longer version of the sport (1-0), which remains their first Test series victory since Murali’s absence. Jayawardene and company now face another stern challenge in shape of a limited-overs series against India, which starts from Saturday at Hambantota, including five ODIs and a T20 International. The seasoned middle-order batsman is delighted with his side’s recent showings and hopes to perform consistently in the coming months. "We have just finished a series against Pakistan successfully and what is important is to continue with the good work," Jayawardene said. "We have to work hard to reach the goals we want to attain." Some of the young Lankan players performed out of their skins against Pakistan, Thisara Perera, the all-rounder, being the biggest positive. The Sri Lankan skipper expressed that the fresh blood will have to carry the burden of the Island’s cricket in the coming years and hopes to see them do well against India as well. The 35-year-old cricketer from Colombo wants to use the forthcoming battle to assess the strength of his side ahead of more important encounters, which include the ICC World T20 2012, which will be hosted by the Island in September/October. "It's a good opportunity against India. We need to take the team forward. We have brought in a few new players for the one-day side, and we have to think about the World Twenty20 and which of these players will be suitable for that competition," the home team’s captain added. Taking into account Sri Lanka’s rejuvenated approach, one expects the upcoming series against India to be a nail-biting prospect. Tagged in: cricket, Mahela Jayawardene, Sri Lanka, Cricket Update, cricket news Test your Cricket knowledge by placing free betting on cricket matches. Get most accurate Cricket betting odds and picks for successful betting.

JAMES ANDERSON IS READY FOR A RIVALRY WITH DALE STEYN - CRICKET NEWS UPDATE

English spearhead, James Anderson, has said that he is ready for a showdown with the South African quick, Dale Steyn, when the two meet during the first Test at the Oval. The war of words from the South African has definitely heated the atmosphere following the Proteas’ pace bowler’s remarks - ‘I’ll bury Jimmy’ – directed towards the English spearhead. However, Anderson shrugged off the rant and made light work of his claims. While the duo has admitted to share respect for each other off the field, their rivalry is all set to inflame the proceedings on Thursday, but the home side’s ace bowler maintained that there’s nothing personal about it. “He’s always very polite and pleasant when I see him off the field and then completely the opposite when I see him on it! I think that’s the way cricket should be played,” the right-arm bowler said. Nicknamed Jimmy by his teammates, the right-arm bowler is among the leading wicket-takers for his country with 267 Test Wickets in 70 matches. The 29-year-old will lead an impressive English attack, which remain eager to avenge the series loss they suffered at their hands in 2008. When asked about his comparison with the counterpart the Lancashire player was graceful in calling him a better bowler. “He is a slightly different bowler to me, probably more aggressive. He's a bit quicker, swings the ball late and is probably a bit more attacking, whereas my role can be a holding job at times. There are plenty of differences,” the English fast bowler said. Anderson further acknowledged Steyn’s current ranking at the best Test bowler, adding that he has indeed picked up a few things from his counterpart. “I've watched him many times and tried to pick things up from him. You do that with all bowlers, trying to soak up as much as you can,” Anderson said. The highly anticipated series is already considered by many as a clash between the world’s two best bowling attacks, and the 29-year-old believes that both teams will fight it out on equal terms as there is very little to choose between them.

Live 1st Test: England vs South Africa

England are batting after winning the toss. Dale Steyn and co would be going all out to exploit fresh English conditions. SL series will show how our improvement: Dhoni How Sri Lanka averted the financial crisis Interview: Laxman hopes to bounce back Blog: Imran Khan - first among equals

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