Strauss's search for No. 1

‘You’re worried that this might be the series when you’re finally outed as a fraud and not up to playing at this level,’ he writes. It is a startling admission from one who is widely respected for his unflappable air. ‘With cricket, you have so much time to think about what is going to happen,’ Strauss explains. ‘You end up stewing over stuff that in other sports is over very quickly. It can be lonely in the middle but we are conditioned to deal with that.

I often worry with England sides that when we’re feeling a bit comfortable and happy with ourselves, it can be a bit of a danger time. But on this occasion I didn’t see it. I saw a lot of guys who were confident in the way they’d been playing, and determined to finish the series in style. I was very reassured by the way they were approaching things in the nets, with a quiet confidence, allied to a sort of inner drive. That’s a great recipe for success.