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England have been totally outclassed since the start of the One-day International (ODI) series by Pakistan but skipper Andrew Strauss remains optimistic and believes his boys can give the tourists a good fight by playing to their potential.

The home team were bowled out for a meagre 166 and later thrashed by seven wickets in the second ODI here at Lord’s on Saturday by the Pakistanis after rain saved the home team in the opening game at Cardiff last week.

The way Pakistan have dominated the one-day series that began with a Twenty20 game at Bristol, which Pakistan comfortably won, it seems that England’s woes in the shorter version of the game would continue unabated.

The Englishmen were whitewashed 5-0 on their home soil by Sri Lanka in an ODI contest earlier this summer and most pundits are predicting a similar rout for them against Pakistan. In fact, some are already talking about an embarrassing outing for England in next year’s World Cup in the West Indies.

However, Strauss doesn’t agree. “The World Cup is a long way away. We’ve got a lot of guys who are early in their one-day careers and they can only get better,” he said, adding that his team’s fans should not lose heart over England’s losing streak in one-dayers.

The left-handed batsman, leading England in the absence of all-rounder Andrew Flintoff, said presently his players were focussing on the next three ODIs against Pakistan. “There is no doubt that Pakistan are a very strong one-day side and things are not easy for my players. But I am positive and will continue backing the talent I have in my team,” he said.

Strauss praised Pakistan’s middle-order batting comprising Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf and Inzamam-ul-Haq but fell short of agreeing with a reporter that it is currently the best in the world. “I don’t spend time thinking which is the world’s best middle order but I must say that Pakistan have a lot of experience in the middle order and that really helps them.”

Strauss expressed that his time has been unlucky in one-dayers but was quick to add that he is not making any excuses. “As soon as you start talking about your bad luck then you are not helping yourself,” he said.

He added that as captain his job is to raise the morale of his players in bid to stage a comeback in the remaining three ODIs against Pakistan. “It is very important for us to bring some improvement in our performance in the coming matches,” he said.

The two teams are set to lock horns in the third one-dayer at the Rose Bowl, Southampton on Tuesday.

Strauss state that England have been suffering a lot in the ODI series mainly because they have been losing early wickets. He admitted Pakistan’s new-ball pair of Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif have been too good for his batsman so far.
Source:The News