It’s been a dream summer in Australia for Andrew Strauss who recently became the first England captain since Mike Gatting in 1987 to lead an English team to an Ashes victory in Australia.

Strauss not only captained the side well, he also shone with the bat and he is hoping to continue his fine form as England look to secure something of a double against an Aussie side hoping to regain some pride after a 3-1 series defeat in The Ashes.

“A few days away is always quite reinvigorating,” he admitted.

“It was a long hard Ashes series as it always is, but I’m very excited about what’s to come.

“There’s a context to this one-day series. Australia are number one in the world and we’ve got a World Cup around the corner.

“Momentum heading into the World Cup is crucial.

“We know that getting wins early in a seven-match series is important and that starts tomorrow.”

“Both sides will be very up for the series and to be thinking ‘oh well, we won the Ashes’ will take away from our intensity,” he added.