Sport
Cricket: England needs to dig deep against the Windies
West Indies Team vs England Day 5. PHOTO/File
England captain Andrew Strauss has warned his side to expect more difficult days ahead as they seek to wrap up a series victory over the West Indies (Windies).
Strauss’s men go into the second leg of a three-match series, which gets underway at Trent Bridge here on Friday, with a 1-0 lead after a five-wicket win at Lord’s.
But the Windies took England, the world’s leading Test side, into the fifth day at Lord’s and twice made them stumble in pursuit of a victory target of 191.
“It was very hard work at Lord’s, that’s always the case with Test match cricket,” Strauss told Sky Sports at Trent Bridge here on Thursday.
“Often it’s hard work to get on top of the opposition and often it’s hard work to nail that final nail in coffin.
“The Windies put up a really good fight, there’s times when they made life difficult for us and we were relieved to a certain extent to get over the line and win that game, but we’re also aware we have to do it again this week if we want to win,” added opening batsman Strauss, who ended his 18-month wait for a Test century at Lord’s.
Alastair Cook (79) and Ian Bell (63 not out) saw England to victory at Lord’s after they were in trouble at 57 for four, while the first Test was a personal triumph for seamer Stuart Broad, who took 11 wickets in the match.
