Andrew Strauss is excited by Kevin Pietersen’s return to the England fold next week ahead of the start of their battle with SA.

The England captain touched down with his team-mates in Bloemfontein on Sunday, but the middle-order batsman was a notable absentee at the start of the two and half month tour.

Pietersen has been recuperating from surgery to his right Achilles tendon - an injury that forced him to miss the last three Tests of this summer’s Ashes - but will link up with his country next Monday, arriving in his native South Africa on Tuesday.

This means he will miss England’s first two warm-up games, the first of which is a 50-over match against the Diamond Eagles on Friday.

However, Strauss, whose side held their first training session on Monday morning, is looking forward to his return.

“I’m genuinely excited about having him back,” he told a press conference.

“We’ve missed his quality, we’ve missed his influence and I also think he’s going to come back very refreshed, hungry and motivated.

“When you have a player of that quality with that frame of mind, you can expect him to go out and play really well.

“We don’t want him to come back before he’s ready, so he’s got to make sure he’s completely over his injury before we bring him back.

“But it’s going to be a great boost for us to have him back in the environment.”

“There is a lot of hard work to be done”

Strauss has played for his country for more than five years now - featuring in two Ashes series wins - but admits that for England to win, they would need to play better than they have ever done with him in the team.

He continued: “That (winning the series) would be an incredible achievement - beating the number one side in the world at home, that’s as hard as it can get.

“But we’re not going to get carried away with ourselves at this stage. There is a lot of hard work to be done if we want to get there and achieve that goal.

“In some ways, if we’re going to achieve that goal, we’re going to have to play better than we’ve ever played in my time as an England player. So it’s a bit of a step up for us and comes at a good time.”

The 32-year-old, who will lead England in the five one-dayers and four-Test series against the Proteas after two Twenty20 internationals to begin the tour, pointed out that one of their focus points over the next few weeks would be to gain consistency.

He said: “I think as a group we understand the extent and the challenge that this tour sets us - playing the number one ranked side.

“This is an opportunity for us to see where we are as a side and also to make some steps forward in terms of becoming more consistent and more able to deal with the best sides in the world on a consistent basis.

“We have some ideas as to how we might continue our development in one-day cricket in particular at this stage, and we look forward to putting those into action in the coming weeks.”

The skipper again brushed aside the issue of possible hostility for the four players in the squad - Strauss himself, Pietersen, Jonathan Trott and Matt Prior - with South African connections.

He added: “I think it’s only an issue if you let it affect you. I’ve been here before, Kevin Pietersen’s been here before, so it’s not something that will affect us.

“For Jonathan Trott it’s a bit of a step into the unknown, but he’s showed great ability to deal with the pressure that goes with playing in a must-win Ashes Test match, so he’s more than capable of dealing with it.

“From our team’s point of view it’s just a non-issue and not something that we ever talk about.”

England captain Andrew Strauss says Australia have lost their previous aura and opposition teams are no longer in awe of them.

England are 1-0 ahead in the series after the heroics of Andrew Flintoff at Lord’s last week and are imbued with the belief that the Ashes can be regained this summer.

Strauss admitted that in previous series, even when England were in strong positions, the fear of Australia’s experienced match-winners meant they never felt truly comfortable.

“I don’t think this Australian side has an aura about it,” Strauss was quoted as saying in the ‘Daily Telegraph’. “We didn’t think so even before the series started.

“Not to be disrespectful, they still have some great players. The aura came from players like Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne, Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist.

“A lot of the guys in this team are at the start of their Test careers and necessarily don’t have an aura yet.

“Playing Australia now feels like playing any other Test team.”

Andrew Strauss hopes his unbeaten century can inspire the rest of England’s line-up to reach a competitive first-innings score.

The England captain resumes the second day at Lord’s unbeaten on 161 after hitting 22 boundaries during his six-hour stay at the crease and guiding his side to 364 for six.

It was a satisfactory display, but one tinged with slight disappointment that they failed to build on a 196-run opening stand - England’s highest against Australia at Lord’s after eclipsing the 182 forged by Herbert Sutcliffe and Jack Hobbs in 1926.

But Strauss is hoping his efforts as captain can help England secure their first Lord’s Test win over Australia since 1934.

“In terms of setting an example for the batsmen to go big when they get in, it was important,” said Strauss, who has now claimed four centuries in just nine Tests since succeeding Kevin Pietersen as captain.

“Also, as a captain, you don’t want to be scratching around not scoring runs because it adds more pressure when you don’t really need more pressure.

“It feels pretty good to have got those big runs and hopefully the rest of the guys will come out and put in some good performances with bat and ball in the remaining days.”

England’s final score after the opening day is similar to their position in the first Test at Cardiff when they reached 336 for seven and ended up clinging on desperately for a draw on the final day.

But Strauss believes the wicket at Lord’s offers more encouragement for bowlers, which gives England a better chance of pressing home their advantage if they record a competitive first-innings total.

“It’s slightly disappointing to be six down from 196 for nought but there are more wicket-taking opportunities here than there were in Cardiff,” he stressed.

“The ball swung around a little bit more and when it swung batting could get quite tricky but at the same time, in between that the opportunities to score were there.

“I think if we can get up to 450-odd then we’re in a pretty good position in the game, but we’ll probably have to bowl better than we did in Cardiff.”

“It was a pretty false start”

Australian wicketkeeper Brad Haddin, one of seven members of their line-up playing their first Test at Lord’s, admitted they may have been affected by the magnitude of the event.

“It was a pretty false start,” said Haddin. “Maybe the occasion got to a few of us - I certainly tensed up a little bit and the occasion of Lord’s got too big for a few of us.

“You put so much pressure on yourself to do well when you walk out at Lord’s - it is similar to playing the Boxing Day Test in Australia.”

Off-spinner Nathan Hauritz, who dislocated his right middle finger attempting to take a sharp return catch from Strauss when he was on 52, is hopeful of being fit to bowl later in the match.

Hauritz left the field straight after the incident to have medical attention and although he returned to the field later in the afternoon, he was unable to bowl.

Andrew Strauss saw a glimpse of England’s future in their 10-wicket dismantling of the West Indies at Lord’s.

And the captain is excited at the prospect of more to come.

The performances of debutant seamer Graham Onions, emerging all-rounder Graeme Swann and new number three Ravi Bopara underpinned a victory inside three days in the first npower Test.

Strauss is especially encouraged that the key contributions came from players still finding their feet in a Test squad he hopes can confirm superiority over the Windies at Durham next week - and then get the better of Australia in the Ashes.

Onions finished with a haul of seven for 102; Bopara battled hard for a crucial first-innings hundred, and man-of-the-match Swann excelled with a maiden 50 and figures of six for 55 with his off-spin.

The West Indies never had a lasting answer, suffering debilitating collapses two days running. “We played some pretty clinical cricket,” Strauss enthused.

“You’d be hard pressed to find too many ‘negatives’ out of this game.”

In a match which featured a first-ball duck for England’s highest-profile batsman Kevin Pietersen, Strauss was delighted to see newcomers making a name for themselves - and proving he does not have to rely on one or just a few good men to get the better of the West Indies, or Australia. While his opposite number Chris Gayle was left recalling “disastrous” sessions and avoidance of “disgrace” as he came to terms with defeat, Strauss could afford the broadest of smiles throughout. “If you want to win games consistently you need performances coming from all 11 individuals,” he believes.

“There were some different selections, fresh faces - and they all came to the party.

“That’s what you want to see; you need some depth in an international squad if you want to do well, and it looks like we are building some decent depth.”

Bopara answered the call emphatically to fill England’s problem position at one-wicket down.

“We were in some trouble on day one at 100 for four - and the way, in particular, that Ravi stood up and showed his temperament under pressure is really encouraging,” added the captain. “It was crucial to the outcome of the Test match. It was not easy to bat on day one - the wicket was a bit green and nipped around a bit - and someone needed to front up and play the conditions well.

“He did that, and it’s really encouraging when you see that from a guy who hasn’t played a lot before - because it’s an examination of his temperament and character.”

Bopara was far from the only individual to rise to a significant occasion.

“I thought we bowled with some good hostility and kept at it when it got a bit flatter. It’s just good to get over that finishing line - which we struggled to do in [the winter's 1-0 series defeat in] the West Indies,” Strauss noted.

“We won the important periods and then kept the pressure on. I’m very happy with that - we need a lot more over the course of the summer.

“Winning matches lifts the team and makes them feel part of something very special. It gives everyone confidence, and the more you do it the more you believe you can win when the chips are down.

“Graeme Swann has been contributing pretty well for a while now. But what a great start for Graham Onions.

“He’ll be delighted with his week, and I’m delighted for him.

“It shows there’s some good talent in English cricket. It was fantastic to see those guys do well.”

Gayle did not seek to hide from some painful truths.

“Obviously, we are very disappointed in the manner we lost the game in three days,” said the Jamaican, who had to admit six dropped chances in one session on day one and then some flaky batting in each innings left his team washed up.

“We have to give credit to England. I thought they played some good cricket all round, and held on to their chances,” he added.

“But that last session on the first day put us on the back foot, and we have ourselves to blame for that.

“Fidel (Edwards) bowled brilliantly and could easily have set the game up for us. But the chances were put down.

“The last couple of weeks we have had some hiccups with the batting, and in this Test match it kind of crumbled again - and we lost the plot. It was a disaster for us.

“In the second innings, Denesh Ramdin and Brendan Nash saved us from disgrace with a fighting performance.”

Andy Flower will put forward his case to become the new England coach by continuing to work with Andrew Strauss.

The former Zimbabwe captain will be interviewed next week to become England’s next full-time coach with his application considerably boosted by his role in overseeing England’s first ever one-day series triumph in the Caribbean.

He already has his ideas for England’s future should he get the job, but a key part of that vision would be the appointment of Strauss as both Test and one-day captain.

“I honestly believe that he will be a very good captain for England,” enthused Flower. “He has done really well on this tour.

“He’s a strong man and the way he led from the front with the bat and in the field and when he speaks is the way a leader should lead in my opinion, so I think he is going to very good for English cricket.”

The manner in which Flower and Strauss have formed a close rapport over the last 11 weeks in West Indies has impressed the England and Wales Cricket Board and is in stark contrast to Peter Moores and Kevin Pietersen, who were sacked in January for their failure to develop just such a working relationship.

Hugh Morris, the managing director of England Cricket, has spent plenty of time in the Caribbean assessing the pair and planning for the coming months and is expected to listen to Strauss’ views before chairing the interview panel this week.

“All I can say is that I have worked very well with him (Flower),” said Strauss. “I don’t think he has put a foot wrong all tour, he has been a fantastic help to me and I hope our relationship can continue but it’s not my decision.

“The ECB are the only ones who know who the other candidates are and they have to sift through those and decide who the best man for England is moving forward.

“I hope they take my views into account but they look at things from a different point of view sometimes. I think from all of our points of view the situation is cleared up sooner rather than later.”

Flower faces competition from former India coach John Wright while current South Africa coach Mickey Arthur remains popular within the ECB and Morris has made it clear the new coach would have the power to appoint his own backroom staff and his views on the captain would also be heard.

Strauss had not been considered for the one-day team in two years, but his man-of-the-series display to help England come from behind to secure victory has been impressive enough to at least put him in the frame for both jobs.

“I’m very comfortable with my game at the moment,” admitted Strauss. “I was pretty nervous coming into the series because it had been a couple of years (since I last played).

“I had to rethink my game playing on these wickets so thankfully in a couple of games it really came off, but I still think I can get a lot better at one-day cricket.

“I am sure I will sit down in the next couple of days and see what options are available in 50 over and 20-over cricket. We want to see what kind of options they want before we can nail our colours to the mast.”

Before the selectors can name a captain either for the one-day side or for the ICC World Twenty20 starting in June, the ECB must first decide on their new coach and are hopeful of making their appointment before the start of the first Test against West Indies at Lord’s on May 6.

The new coach will have a major task just getting through this summer with a Test and one-day series against West Indies, the ICC World Twenty20 tournament, a home Ashes series and a seven-match one-day series against Australia.

“I have got my ideas about what I want to say in the interview but the decision is out of my hands,” said Flower.

“I will speak honestly in it and see what they decide. My interim coach’s position ends tomorrow. Hopefully, they will make the decision fairly soon and the sooner the better.

“Hugh and I spoke at the start of the tour Hugh and I and said that a lot of the discussions that we have are for the medium term as well because we couldn’t ignore some of the planning that needs to go in for the year ahead and we’ll probably continue to have those conversations until they make their decision.”

Andrew Strauss has declared himself fit to lead out England in Friday’s opening match of the ODI series against West Indies.

The Middlesex batsman had been struggling with a right hamstring strain suffered during Sunday’s emphatic defeat in the Twenty20 International in Trinidad.

It hampered his ability to take part in fitness practice earlier this week and he batted with a runner during Wednesday’s middle practice in Georgetown.

But Strauss, who has not played a one-day international since the Caribbean World Cup two years ago, confirmed: “I had a little bit of a hamstring niggle but I’ve been working hard with the medical staff and I feel absolutely 100% fine.

“Having a runner yesterday was completely precautionary and I did a lot of sprint work at the end of practice and came through that very well and feel 100% fine to go tomorrow.”

England will be without all-rounder Andrew Flintoff, who is yet to recover fully from the hip problem he sustained during the Test series, but are delaying naming their side until Friday.

England captain Andrew Strauss was left angered as his first match in charge resulted in a humiliating defeat.

Strauss, appointed a month ago after inheriting the leadership from the deposed Kevin Pietersen, saw his side blown away for just 51 at Sabina Park.

And he admitted the players were shell-shocked following the extraordinary innings and 23-run defeat.

“I am pretty angry with the way we’ve let ourselves down,” Strauss said.

“The way we’ve batted there is not good enough from an England team, we all accept that.

“The dressing room is a pretty disconsolate place at the moment.

“I don’t think anyone likes to see an England team go down in that fashion, the players are all hurting pretty badly.

“Moving forward if we can use that as motivation or inspiration to play better then we will come out of it a better side.

“I do recognise that out of these pretty tough times, good things can happen.

“We have a choice of sticking together as a group of players and become closer as a result of this and move forward. Or we don’t.”

England’s top order was blown away by West Indies paceman Jerome Taylor, who claimed five for 11 with the new ball.

Giant left-arm spinner Sulieman Benn also doubled his match wicket tally to eight as England imploded after conceding a 74-run deficit on first innings.

“Possibly we didn’t play Jerome Taylor in the right sort of way,” Strauss said.

“It was pretty clear what he was trying to do: bowl very straight at us.

“Mentally we weren’t as sharp as we should have been.

“On that wearing pitch, anything in the region of 150 to 160-run lead was going to be interesting.

“We knew we would have to absorb some early pressure with the new ball and, when you’re two down early, the pressure builds. We just didn’t handle it well enough. Simple as that.

“Good sides get through that and we weren’t good enough to be able to do that.

“Taylor bowled a fantastic spell but the wicket wasn’t misbehaving terribly, so as a batting unit we have to hold our hands up and say it wasn’t good enough.

“The bowlers had done an exceptional job to keep us in touch in the game and we then got into a pressure period in the match, which we didn’t handle very well.

“As a group - you couldn’t single out one player - we were very poor.”

Only Andrew Flintoff managed double figures as England registered their third lowest score in Test history.

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This was West Indies’ first Test win over England since 2000 and halted a run of 13 losses and three draws in the interim.

“Kevin Pietersen was the key wicket for us,” said West Indies captain Chris Gayle, referring to Taylor’s uprooting of his off-stump.

“He’s their main batter, he has been getting the runs for them over the last couple of series and we decided not to relax after we got him out.”

Jamaican Taylor, who finished with five for 11 and the man of the match award, added: “Each and every wicket is a big moment for me.

“I wouldn’t say it was my best ever spell, I have bowled well in the past and I knew I had it in me to get the ball in the right area.”

England laboured to wrap up the West Indians’ innings for 392 on the fourth morning, and then crucially lost two wickets before lunch.

“Perhaps the pitch and conditions were in the back of their mind,” said Gayle.

“Because as a cricketer, you don’t want too many things to think about, just the bowler coming up to bowl to you. I am assuming that is what they were thinking.”

The teams now head off to Antigua for the second of four Tests, with Gayle hoping this can be the start of a resurgence in the Caribbean.

“It is definitely a turning point,” he said.

“We can’t say if it’s a big one yet, we will have to wait to see if we win the series first. Hopefully we can capitalise on this start.

“The batting and the bowling combined together in this match, which is absolutely tremendous.”