Interview: England cricket captain Andrew Strauss

He acknowledged South Africa, currently rated the best test team in the world, will be a big challenge.

He said: "It's a great test for us right now, having won the Ashes. It'll be a fantastic gauge as to where we are as a side and how far we need to go.

"To beat South Africa in their own back yard takes something special. I know we did it a few years ago but I felt at the time they were going through a bit of a rebuilding phase whereas they are now a very strong and setttled side.

"I don't think we underestimate the size of the challenge ahead of us, but we can win out there. If we could then it'll be a huge confidence booster ahead of a lot important cricket coming up."

Strauss, 32, feels the focus on the Ashes tends to overshadow the fact there are plenty of other tough opponents out there for England.

He said: "It makes life a little bit more difficult for us than for some other teams, and rightly so, because we focus on the Ashes and kind of build our plans around the Ashes series.

"But do we not try hard in other test matches? No, we try just as hard but it's just that there's more attention on the Ashes and more interest from outside the camp.

"I still maintain our primary goal is to get to number one in the world and to do that you need to win far more than win an Ashes series or two."

Since making his test debut in 2004 Strauss has scored over 5,000 runs and established himself as one of the best players in world cricket.

But it has not always been easy and two years ago he feared his international career was going to end as he struggled for form and confidence.

It took an innings of 177 against New Zealand early last year to keep him in the side and he seized the opportunity with both hands, becoming captain last January.

It's a journey he recounts in his book Testing Times: In Pursuit of the Ashes, revealing he inside story of top level cricket.

Strauss has tasted the highs and lows of the game, and was part of the 2005 side that regained the Ashes. He admitted the 2009 victory carried an extra frisson for him.

He said: "When you are captaining the side you invest that much more in it, so to win an Ashes series while being captain is going to take some bettering, that's for sure.

"2005 was very special. I'll never downgrade the emotions and the experiences we went through there but certainly in this series being captain added a bit more to it.

"It's a great thing the Ashes means so much in this country. While you are playing in it there's a lot of stress and strain and expectation and all that sort of stuff. But it's only there because people really care about winning the Ashes.

"When you are able to win it, it makes it that much more special."

And he's determined England will maintain the momentum from the summer, and carry it through to the Ashes defence a year from now. Last time England played there they were on the end of a 5-0 series drubbing.

He said: "Hopefully. There's a lot of talk about us taking our eye off the ball in 2005 but I'm not totally sure that is the case.

"I think it was one of those situations where perception becomes reality a bit.

"We did have a lot of injuries. The side that played in 2005 never played together again. At the same time, I think anyone who thinks going to Australia and winning is easy is deluding themselves. It's a very tough assignment.

"I'm very hopeful the side we've got now will stick together until then.

"If we do that and pick up some decent victories along the way, both in South Africa and next summer, then I think we've got an excellent chance."

Andrew Flintoff's retirement because of injury has put the onus on the younger generation of players and Strauss believes they are up to the task of filling the void left by the great all-rounder.

He said: "It's a real shame Fred can no longer play test cricket and we all know the reasons for it. We all sympathise with him for the fact that his body's got to that stage.

"But we've had to live without him quite a lot over the last two or three years so it's nothing new for us. We've got some exciting players who need to fill the gap.

"It's not a case of someone like Stuart Broad just doing his job, it's everyone doing a bit extra. We've got the capability to do it. We've actually played quite well without him previously, so there's no reason we shouldn't be able to do it again.

"A good team will be greater than the sum of its parts but it's easy to talk about being a team and all that sort of stuff. But it's hard to get people deep down believing that they are part of something special or different.

"I was very encouraged by the way the guys stuck together during the Ashes. There were times when we could easily have drifted apart and looked after our own backs but we didn't do that. I think that's very encouraging."

Strauss is also convinced his opening partner Alastair Cook will come through his lean patch and backs the Essex man, who had a poor season with the bat against Australia, to continue to be a key part of the England set-up for years to come.

He said: "I haven't spoken to him a huge amount but I've got every confidence in him. He's a quality individual, a quality player. He's done some adjustment to his techniques which I think were necessary.

"But you know, when you are out there in the middle with someone, if they've got the ability to cut the mustard at international cricket level.

"You can see by the look in his eyes when a quick bowler is bowling really well or whether you are in a very difficult position as a team, and Alastair Cook has always come to the front in difficult situations.

"He'll do it again. We all go through patches of bad form, we're not robots so he'll come through and be better for the experience."

Cook has even been touted as a temporary replacement for Strauss as captain for the trip to Bangladesh at the end of the winter, although the current incumbent was giving nothing away.

He said: "For some reason people have talked about that a lot. It's not something we've discussed at all in the England team. We recognise there are times when players need a rest and we've got to kind of, I suppose, prioritise certain series above others.

"But we've got to see where we're at at the end of the South African tour before we decide on that."

The international cricket calendar is pretty hectic these days, with test, one-day and Twenty20 games to fit in. It's demanding on the players but Strauss is realistic about the schedule.

He said: "That is the reality. I don't see how it's going to change in the near future because the future tours programme is set in stone until 2012 or something like that.

"Players have to adjust to that and sometimes, as management, we're going to have to rest players so we almost cut people out before they get injured.

"You've got to manage your resources so that as a team you are as consistent as possible. The amount of cricket that's played isn't going to change for financial reasons, as much as anything.

"The key for administrators is to get all forms of the game co-existing and sitting comfortably alongside each other. That's quite a difficult balance to achieve.

"Things have happened fast. Twenty20, three or four years ago, was very much in its infancy, now it's paying the bills. So, for the administrators to find a way to make sure how much cricket you play and what proportion of it is in what format is a difficult one for them.

"In some ways I don't envy them their job, but as players we all need to see that we're getting to that situation."

Of course, a year ago England embarked on an extra excursion as part of the Stanford Series, which included a winner-takes-all match against an All Stars XI for a $20million pot.

Strauss wasn't part of the England squad for that but was in Antigua with his county Middlesex. He admitted the tournament funded by the now disgraced American tycoon was not ideal.

He said: "I think as players it always sat quite uncomfortably with us because it wasn't an international game of cricket. For England to be playing a non-international team for a lot of money seemed slightly strange.

"Players weren't quibbling about the amount of money they might possibly win, there was a bit of a pot of gold there for the players.

"But it was ill-fated and subsequently he's got into a lot of trouble himself.

"In some ways there's relief all round that it's finished and done with and hopefully lessons are learned from it.

"I think lessons have been learned from it. I don't see any reason why you can't have a big money tournament with some international sides in it but to have an international side playing a non-international side for that amount of money seems slightly off the mark."

The advent of the Indian Premier League, where the top Twenty20 players in the world can earn previously undreamt of riches, is another moneyspinner for the modern players.

For Strauss, still a refreshingly traditional character in a rapidly changing game, there is no problem in the dressing room between the haves from the IPL, such as Paul Collingwood, and the have-nots, like Strauss himself.

He said: "No, everything's settled down in regard of the IPL. It's a great opportunity for those guys who are very good at that form of the game.

"For a while it was a question of what's more important, the IPL or international cricket. From an England player's point of view I haven't seen any players that don't view England as the number one priority for them.

"The IPL is there as a great fall-back and a good earner. But things may change in the future, we don't know what's around the corner.

"I don't really fancy it myself. I'm not playing 2020 for England and there's only so much you can do. I'm quite comfortable with what I'm doing at the moment."

England might be on the up in the test arena but in one day cricket they still lag behind other leading countries. Strauss feels scrapping the only domestic 50 over competition, the Friends Provident Trophy, won't help produce players ahead of the 2011 World Cup.

He said: "To me, it makes no sense that you play 50 over cricket in internationals but don't domestically. Domestic cricket is there to produce England players, it can't exist without the handouts from the ECB, so it seems off the mark that we can't play 50 over domestic cricket.

"I think there are ways we can tighten up things to produce better England players. Some of those have been looked at and some will be looked at in the future."

Testing Times: In Pusuit of the Ashes by Andrew Strauss is published by Hodder & Stoughton, priced £19.99.