Strauss hoping for feelgood factor

Andrew Strauss is hoping England can on Thursday help Test cricket divert a little attention from the general unease around the country following four days of rioting.

The England captain and his India opposite number Mahendra Singh Dhoni were given an assurance by their respective security experts that there was no reason yet to consider cancelling the third npower Test as Edgbaston despite continued unrest in Birmingham.

Strauss said: "This is an opportunity for cricket to put a feelgood factor into the newspapers and show that not everything is bad out there at the moment. Let's divorce the cricket match from what is going on in the country."

Strauss and Dhoni both spoke of their sadness at a chain reaction of riots which has spread out from London to the midlands, Bristol and Manchester over the last 48 hours, and resulted in a spate of abandoned football fixtures.

"It's clearly not our proudest hour as a country at the moment," added Strauss.

"But in terms of preparing for a cricket match, it hasn't affected us much. When you watch these things on television it's horrific and it's far from England's proudest moment.

"All of us agree on that and are incredibly disappointed to see it happen. But our preparation for the Test match is not affected - and we intend to go out and play the game as we would any other game of cricket."

Dhoni echoed many similar sentiments, adding it is incumbent on him and his team-mates to try to ensure they are not distracted from what they do best.

"Concerned authorities will be dealing with that [security issues surrounding the match], from both sides, and the BCCI [Indian board] will be having a look at that," he said.

"Through the proper channels, we are in touch with the BCCI. We'll just try to do what's in our control, which is preparing for the game. For us it's important to be 100% ready for the game. Whatever else happens is secondary."