Strauss back to resume England captaincy

London, may 23(ANI): England's Test skipper Andrew Strauss will resume the captaincy against Bangladesh at Lord's on Thursday after watching the Paul Collingwood-lead team to Twenty20 World Cup glory in his absence.

Strauss said that he and coach Andy Flower both want to prevent a repeat of what followed England's 2005 Ashes win, when too much celebrating led to a dramatic dip in form.

"Players can get carried away, as we have seen in the past, but I'd be very surprised if it happened to this group of players. I think a healthy dose of realism is important while at the same time taking huge confidence out of what has been achieved in the T20," News of The World quoted Strauss, as saying.

"But let's not fool ourselves. In all forms of the game there is improvement we can make. Certainly in Test cricket if we want to be the best team in the world we need to make a lot of improvements," he added.

Strauss' would be making a comeback over four months' absence, but he remains convinced that he was right to take a break before a hectic year of cricket that culminates in the Ashes.

"The break was very, very important. I feel refreshed and excited about coming back into the England team. Ultimately, it was done for long-term reasons," Strauss said.

"It was done with the Ashes and next year's World Cup in mind. I don't know how the players will react but if there's a problem, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it," he added. (ANI)