Strauss says England whitewash in UAE series eye-opener

London: England captain Andrew Strauss has described England`s first series defeat since 2009 as an eye-opener rather than an aberration.

“We can`t ignore this result and just say it`s an aberration. That would not help us. This was an eye-opener and a wake-up call, and with two more tours on the subcontinent coming up, things won`t get easier. We have to be up for this challenge,” The Sydney Morning Herald quoted Strauss, as saying. “We have to look at the reasons we lost. We have to look at our preparation, our training, our techniques and our temperament. It would be wrong for us to ignore these things, but we also need to remain true to what has worked well in the past,” he added. Strauss’ comments came after England suffered a whitewash at the hands of Pakistan in the Test series in the United Arab Emirates. Meanwhile, Australian coach Mickey Arthur has also spoken about the pressures that England carries for being World No.1. “I was there with South Africa [as No.1] and it`s a totally different pressure. There`s a lot of expectation and it will be interesting to see how they handle it, but they have got good leaders, so I`m pretty sure they will be fine,” he said. “I do think it is going to be a testing summer for England, because they have got us in the one-day series [in June] and then they have got South Africa … and at the end of it we will see exactly where English cricket is,” he added. Bureau Report