Strauss wants to end Windies fight (From Warrington Guardian)

Strauss wants to end Windies fight

1:28pm Thursday 24th May 2012 in National Sport © Press Association 2013

England captain Andrew Strauss is determined not to let his side rest on their laurels as they seek an unassailable 2-0 series lead when they face West Indies in the second Investec Test.

The world's top Test side looked on top for large parts of the five-wicket win at Lord's in the first Test, but it was not straightforward against a touring side who had some fine individual performances from the likes of Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Marlon Samuels and Kemar Roach, and Strauss is preparing his side for another tough battle in Nottingham.

"It was very hard work (at Lord's), that's always the case with Test match cricket," he said in an interview on Sky Sports News. "Often it's hard work to get on top of the opposition and often it's hard work to nail that final nail in the coffin."

He went on: "The West Indies 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.

"It's all about just keeping our feet on the ground and making sure that we're willing to do the hard graft necessary to get on top again."

Alastair Cook and Ian Bell guided England to victory at Lord's with a fifth-wicket stand of 132 after the hosts had slipped to 57 for four in pursuit of a winning target of 191.

Strauss believes that successful run chase will stand his side in good stead for the future and is also pleased most of his players were able to make significant contributions in the victory.

"That target was tricky and there was a time when we were under a bit of pressure and Alastair Cook and Ian Bell dealt with that very well, and that's very important," he said.

"It's obviously always important to win in those circumstances and it gives you more confidence going into the next time you face a situation like that.

"There were some really good performances from our side."