BRISBANE: Skipper Andrew Strauss said Wednesday he was confident his players could pull off ‘something pretty special’ and win England’s first Ashes series in Australia in a generation.
The five-Test series gets underway on Thursday with England chasing their first victory at the Brisbane Gabba fortress since Mike Gatting’s team last prevailed on their way to the tourists’ last Australian series victory in 1986/87. Strauss said his team was well prepared from three tour leadup games in Australian conditions and was ready to lay down a marker in the all-important first match against Ricky Ponting’s under pressure home team.
Australia have not won a Test since July, slipping below England in the world rankings, and are battling injuries and loss of form affecting key players.
“We have got a good opportunity, there’s no doubt about it,” Strauss told a press conference on the eve of the first Test. We’ve started the tour well, we’re in a good place as a side, but at the same time we recognise that it’s a tough assignment, not many sides come out here and win.”
“We understand the size of the challenge ahead of us but we couldn’t be in a better place mentally to take on that challenge.
“It’s going to take a lot of good cricket. It’s going to take some guys pulling out some good performances when it really matters and guys will have to dig pretty deep. “I am fully confident that we have the players to be able to do that.
Australia had some good news on Wednesday about their vice-captain Michael Clarke, who has satisfied medical staff over a back injury which flared in a recent Sheffield Shield game.
While welcoming his deputy’s all-clear, Ponting said that left-arm paceman Doug Bollinger had been left out and would be released along with Clarke’s standby Usman Khawaja to play for NSW in Perth this weekend.
Ponting said although it was psychologically important to win the opening hour of a Test match to establish the pattern of the game, it would not make or break a team’s chances.
