Strauss plans era of 'trust'

New captain Andrew Strauss is excited about a fresh start for England as they begin their first assignment of an Ashes year.

Strauss leads his first Test series as official captain against West Indies, beginning on Wednesday at Sabina Park, hoping to put a turbulent start to 2009 behind the team.

"We all want to see us play more consistently and see the players reach their potential," said Strauss. "There have been plenty of new dawns over the last few years."

He added: "The reality is we have pretty much got the same bunch of players who've been playing for a while now. We haven't quite got there and we will be pushing hard to try to get that high level of consistency over the coming weeks and months."

England will not name their first XI since the new year fiasco, which accounted for former captain Kevin Pietersen, until the toss.

But the signs regarding all-rounder Andrew Flintoff appeared to be positive as he bowled on Tuesday morning with the rest of the anticipated pace attack for a quarter-of-an-hour in the middle, under the supervision of Ottis Gibson.

Strauss is hoping a mature approach will benefit all.

"We have to trust players to take responsibility for their own performances," he believes. "If that works well they will start pushing themselves a little bit harder.

"I have always had a feeling that if you're told what to do all the time there is a slight inkling of resentment there, and that maybe doesn't allow you to reach your potential.

"A lot of it is going to be about playing together as a group, dovetailing well, and reacting well in pressure situations - and winning the important sessions. All that sort of stuff is going to make the difference between being fourth or fifth in the world or being first or second."