Strauss excited by England's winning in 1st Test

Tags: Sri Lanka tour of England - 2011, England v Sri Lanka 1st Test at Cardiff -May 26 -30,2011, England, Andrew John Strauss

Published on: May 31, 2011

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Andrew Strauss praised his England team's ruthless winning mentality after they turned what seemed like a certain draw in the first test against Sri Lanka on Monday into a remarkable victory.

Andrew Strauss praised his England team's ruthless winning mentality after they turned what seemed like a certain draw in the first test against Sri Lanka on Monday into a remarkable victory.

England overcame the loss of about 130 overs in the match to still thrash Sri Lanka by an innings and 14 runs - their fourth innings victory in five tests.

The Sri Lankans, with three batsmen in their line-up averaging more than 50, capitulated to 82 all out in a fraction over two hours on the final evening of the match.

"We were keen to press for a victory but we thought it would be a long shot," Strauss told reporters. "I was really impressed by the guys' intensity because in that situation it is easy to just go through the motions.

"These are the things that test you as a side: how desperately do you want to win? I think we showed that we really wanted it and we got what we deserved.

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