Strauss last scored a hundred in November 2010 against Australia
England Test captain Andrew Strauss has revealed that he experienced a “great feeling of relief” after scoring his first century after 18 months in the first Test against the West Indies.
Strauss’ hundred proved to be crucial in helping England emerge victorious over the West Indies in the first Test at Lord’s.
This hundred was the 35-year-old’s 20th in his Test career and came after having no luck in the previous 25 innings he played since scoring his last hundred against Australia at Brisbane in November 2010.
“Obviously, having not scored a hundred for a while, there was a bit of pressure on me to go out there and get some runs for the lads, the last 15 runs or so were quite hard work mentally because I haven’t been there for a while so it was a great feeling of relief to finally get those three figures, a really special moment, a great ovation and one of the more special hundreds I’ve scored,” Strauss said.
However Strauss, knows that he has not played to the best of his abilities in the past year and hopes to put it behind him.
“That’s what I’m employed to do, get runs for the team, and my output hasn’t been quite as high as I would have liked over the last 12 months or so,” he said.
“It was quite hard work and I suppose it’s mentally a bit tougher when you are ‘searching’ for a hundred. When you’ve scored a few recently it’s a bit easier so to get over that line was a great thrill,” he added.
But Strauss, also realises that his celebrations may be premature since he has to prove that he has really found his form in Test cricket once again.
“It doesn’t change anything quite frankly, I’ve still got to go out the next time I bat and get runs and still do my job as captain. Nothing changes, it’s important we go on and establish an important first-innings lead and win the game. That’s what I am trying to do at the moment. Whatever the media pressure or ‘talking point’ might be, it’s of no real consequence to us in the side and never has been,” he said.