'Dark horses' England can rule world: Strauss

Perth (Australia), Feb.6 (ANI): Having lost the one-day series to Australia 6-1, England captain Andrew Strauss does not feel that it takes the sheen off winning the Ashes series 3-1 Down Under for the first time after 25 years.

He also says that his team, though touted as "Dark Horses", have a fairly good chance of making it to the final of the World Cup in the Indian subcontinent, and maybe win it.

"The remarkable nature of that triumph is only now attaining clarity: three Ashes wins in Australia, all by an innings. Wow! To ask them to be up for the subsequent matches in the two short forms of the game was like asking Captain Cook to discover the country and then be sure to establish Alice Springs on the way back home," he says.

"It is going to be an enjoyable plane journey. A few days at home will be good but we don't want to have any regrets come the end of the World Cup," adds Strauss.

"When this long winter began, England had a list of desires. At its top was the Ashes. A line (maybe two) below was the World Cup. At its bottom, with due regard to sponsors and fans, an entire blank foolscap page separating it, was the series of limited-overs matches against Australia," he says.

Talking about England's World Cup prospects, Strauss said: "I think we have a really good chance out there (Indian subcontinent). We may be dark horses to some extent, but that is not a bad position to be in either," he says.

Whatever happens in Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka in the next seven weeks, to have inflicted three innings defeats on Australia in a single Test series stands alone as a monumental feat of planning and execution.

Strauss can already take his place in the pantheon, and to have hung on to his coat tails and listened to his reassuring, stentorian tones at regular intervals around Australia these past 14 weeks has been one of life's privileges.

"For him and his players it has meant the fulfilment of dreams.

"This has been an incredible tour to have been on, something I feel very proud to have been part of," he said. (ANI)