Andrew Strauss wants to harness the spirit from the final afternoon in Cardiff to drive England to a 1-0 Ashes lead in Thursday's second Test at Lord's. The England captain was impressed by his side's fight as his men held on for a draw on Sunday after scratching out a 13-run lead through its final pairing of James Anderson and Monty Panesar.
While Australia were disappointed to have let the match slip, England celebrated on the field like it was a victory. "You can take a lot from performances like that," Strauss said. "As captain, I was very happy with the fight we showed in the latter half of that day and that is a huge attribute to have as a side - probably more important than any other attribute you have."
England's Ashes debutants struggled with nerves throughout most of the match and Strauss predicted a more relaxed performance at Lord's, where Australia haven't lost since 1934. "There will be a few guys that are relieved that it is up and running and we are underway," Strauss said. "We have seen the Aussie batsmen and we have seen the other Aussie bowlers, now it is down to just knuckling down and playing cricket. We have got a nice little bit of momentum from that fifth day, which we are really looking to build on in that first day."
