Strauss excited by Pietersen at top of order
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Not since Marcus Trescothick was in his prime have England had an opener who could keep pace with the Sehwags, Dilshans and Gayles of the world. The injury that ruled Eoin Morgan out of the tournament and forced England to reassess their batting strategy could, therefore, have major ramifications for their World Cup campaign.
The decision to open with Kevin Pietersen is the obvious result, while Matt Prior, who struggled in Australia at the top of the order, has found his niche in the middle. "He played brilliantly at six against Canada and played a nice little cameo against Pakistan as well," said Andrew Strauss on the eve of England's first game against the Netherlands. "Pietersen, we've always felt, has the game to prosper at the top of the order in the subcontinent, on these type of wickets. I think he could take a couple of the opposition teams by surprise and put pressure on them."
Strauss himself is a very different player, steady rather than spectacular, and he reckoned that the different methods employed would make things harder for opposition bowlers. "I didn't make many in the warm-up games, but we're very contrasting players," he said. "That might make it hard for bowlers to adjust to us. I'm very excited to bat alongside him, let's put it that way. I think it could flourish into a very good partnership."
Two months ago, English cricket was riding the crest of a huge Ashes wave. Since then, after an injury-plagued one-day series that saw Australia win 6-1, questions have been asked about England's stomach for 50-overs battle now that the urn is in safe keeping.
Strauss insisted, however, that the Ashes hangover was long gone. "The World Cup only happens every four years," he said. "If you're lucky, you might play two or three in your career. You don't want to have any regrets at the end of it.
"That [losing intensity] was an accusation that could have been levelled during the one-day series in Australia. But not the World Cup. We're up for it. There's a good vibe and buzz about everything out here at the moment."
The feel-good factor has been enhanced by the return of Graeme Swann to full fitness and England have the full squad to choose from for a game against the side that embarrassed them in the World Twenty20 less than two years ago.
That defeat at Lord's is not uppermost in English minds these days, and Strauss preferred to think of it as a cautionary tale. "It underlines the point that you can't underestimate teams like Holland," he said. "They've played a lot of cricket now and are a side with some obvious strengths. We need to be good enough to overcome those. If we're 10 percent off and they have a good day, we're in trouble."
"Everyone's fit and healthy and ready to go. The six days we had in Bangladesh were really good in terms of preparation for the tournament. We were quite buoyed by our performance against Pakistan, and excited about what's to come.
"It was a frustrating two or three weeks in Australia, with some key performers injured at the wrong time, and not playing smart cricket. So it was reassuring to play the way we did against Pakistan."
The pitch at Jamtha has usually been terrific for batting and Strauss said that a final call on the XI would only be made on Tuesday morning. "It looks like a very good wicket," he said. "We'll need to see it tomorrow before we can gauge how much it's going to turn or otherwise."
Selection should be fairly straightforward, with Ravi Bopara, Michael Yardy and Swann tussling for two spots. With a match against India to come on Sunday, it would be surprising if Swann didn't play.
India and Sri Lanka, two of the pre-tournament favourites, opened up with thumping victories, but Strauss was adamant that there was no pressure on his side to keep up with the subcontinent's Joneses. "We're not playing against India," he said. "We're playing against Holland and we need to win. How we win isn't as important as just winning."
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