Home > Cricket > England's tour of India >
PTI >
Report
Strauss blames batsmen for loss
April 15, 2006 20:48 IST
England's [Images] stand-in skipper Andrew Strauss [Images] on Saturday blamed his batsmen for the side's 5-1 series loss to India but appreciated the efforts of the young seamers in testing conditions.
"None of our batsmen could score a century (in the seven-match series) which is the main reason for our loss," Strauss said.
"We lost wickets at regular intervals and at crucial stages. We have learnt a lesson and we will try not to repeat our mistakes," he said after England's seven-wicket loss in the final one-dayer in Indore.
Strauss picked young fast bowlers James Anderson and Liam Plunkett for special praise.
"Young seamers, especially Plunkett and Anderson did very well in testing conditions. Anderson bowled consistently and we are impressed.
"We have learnt what it takes to win a series in India," Strauss, who led in Andrew Flintoff's [Images] absence in the last three matches, said.
Strauss also said that his side missed the services of four of their experienced players.
"It is important to get the momentum back before the Champions Trophy and the World Cup. But we were missing our four of our most experienced players," he said.
He said the team was preserving Flintoff, who has carried the team's hopes as several key players including regular captain Michael Vaughan [Images] were missing from the tour.
"He (Flintoff) is very important player of our team and he will need to be fresh for Ashes series later this year in Australia," Strauss said.