England’s problems against spin are exaggerated, says Andrew Strauss

Sydney: Former England captain Andrew Strauss has gone into bat for his former team-mates by claiming that England’s problems against spin are a ‘wild exaggeration’.

After spending almost 10 years in the England dressing room, Strauss has branded the perception that the Three Lions are more vulnerable than most against spin as ‘wide off the mark’. “I personally believe they are wide off the mark because although there have been times we haven’t played spin that well, it is not a trait that I think we are worse than others at,” Strauss told a daily. “In all my time playing for England, I don’t think we’ve been any better or worse than any non-subcontinent team at playing spin bowling,” he added. According to the report, Strauss reckons that, for a non-subcontinent side, England have fared better than most when it comes to tackling the twirlers in India. “In some ways I think we’ve been a lot better so this perception has created a momentum of its own and this is a chance for the players to rid the casual observer of it,” he said. “They’ve not won there since the early 80s and it is a massive undertaking with four Test matches and a relatively younger side. This is a chance to show that some of the perceptions about English cricket and spin bowling and all that sort of stuff are wide of the mark,” he added. ANI