Andrew Strauss pleased to provide England cheer

Andrew Strauss celebrates beating Australia to go 3-0 up in the NatWest Series
10 April 2012

England captain Andrew Strauss was a relieved man after his team narrowly avoided adding cricket disappointment to the footballers' World Cup exit.

England were cruising to a NatWest Series-clinching victory over Australia at Old Trafford yesterday long after their winter game counterparts had lost 4-1 to Germany in Bloemfontein.

But once Strauss (87) was out with seven overs to go, his team imploded to lose six wickets for 18 runs in pursuit of 212 all out.

It was Tim Bresnan's late hitting which finally got them over the line with just one wicket and five balls to spare, allowing Strauss to reflect after all on wrapping up the series via a 3-0 lead with two matches still to play.

Strauss described the last 10 overs as "horrendous", but - unlike Steven Gerrard and Co - could at least reflect on a day that had after all turned out fine in the end.

"Clearly the football result was a bit of a downer for everyone," he said.

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