By Richard Sydenham
LONDON Aug 20 (Reuters) – England captain Andrew Strauss
acknowledged on Monday that his team had not responded well to
the challenge of defending their world number one test ranking.
By contrast his South Africa counterpart Graeme Smith, whose
side displaced England when they won their three-test series 2-0
at Lord’s, said he believed the Proteas had what it took to stay
on top.
South Africa jumped ahead of England in the rankings after
their 51-run victory in the final test on Monday. The win ended
England’s impressive streak of seven consecutive test series
wins at home and extended the Proteas’ run of six years without
defeat in test series overseas.
England were number one for a year after leapfrogging India
last year. But since then they have lost six tests, including
three in a row to Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates, won
three and drawn two.
“It has been the case that we’ve lost a lot more than we
would have wanted to,” Strauss said.
“Whether that’s because of a change of mindset, from being
the hunters to the ones that are hunted, I don’t know.
“Or is it just that we came unstuck in the subcontinent and
lost a bit of confidence along the way? I don’t know the exact
answers right now. But those are the sort of questions we need
to find answers to.
“Obviously, the mindset switches straightaway again – to us
being the ‘hunters’ – and maybe that suits us a bit better at
the moment. That should give us the impetus and catalyst to go
on and play some better cricket over the coming months.”
Continued…
