Strauss has failed to make any solid scores during the first two Tests

England Test captain Andrew Strauss has announced that he will do anything he can in order to maintain England’s position at the top of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Test team rankings.

At the beginning of the series against South Africa, Strauss stated that he planned to see England remain as the top Test team, but the English are currently trailing 1-0 in the series with one final Test match left.

Before the start of the series, The Sun, quoted Strauss as saying: “Am I confident we will win the series? Yes. Am I under any illusions it will be easy? No. It’s going to be a big challenge for us, but I’m sure we’ll come through.”

South African captain Graeme Smith is currently trying to maintain his side’s lead in the series and possibly see off his third England captain.

Smith was still in charge during previous tours to England, which resulted in two former captains, Michael Vaughan and Nasser Hussain, quitting while Smith still remained in charge of the South African team.

However, Strauss has no plans to abandon his post as the leader of his country, as he wants to be captain for another year and a half, in order to win his fourth Ashes series against Australia in January 2014 before standing down.

Strauss noted that it was key for him and his opening partner Alastair Cook to set the tone early when batting, in order for the rest of the team to feel a little more relaxed.

“As an opening batsman, you must be prepared to face the best in the world with the new ball. I certainly feel in good form and ready to do that. The start we get at the top of the order has a big effect on everyone else,”Strauss said.

When asked if he could predict a winner for the series before it started, Strauss stated that it was going to be too close to call.

We are two very well-balanced sides with not much to choose between us.It will probably be the small sessions of play that determine the winner, we’re going to have to play at our best. But we have a lot of self-belief and being at home is an advantage too,” Strauss added.