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Strauss hopeful for 2008

13/01/2008

England opener Andrew Strauss has said he feels "refreshed and reinvigorated" after missing the tour to Sri Lanka.

Strauss, 30, was dropped after a poor run of form and missed England's 2-0 defeat on the subcontinent.

Appearing for Northern Districts in New Zealand's domestic State Shield championship today Strauss hit a run-a-ball 39 before being bowled.

He held on to two catches in the field but Northern Districts lost by five wickets, England A captain Alex Gidman hitting a match-winning 54 for Otanga.

Strauss has spent his time away from the Test side working on technical aspects of his batting technique and is expected to be recalled for England's forthcoming tour of New Zealand.

He admitted on BBC Radio Five Live's Sportsweek programme that "in some ways missing the Sri Lanka tour was a blessing in disguise".

"Clearly I was bitterly disappointed to be missing out but firstly it gave me a fairly extended period of time to get away from the game and refresh mentally… [and] secondly do a bit of work on my game that I might not otherwise have been able to do.

"I'm really excited for 2008 – I'm hopeful it will be a big year for English cricket and even more hopeful it will be a big year for myself.

"The guys speaking to me on my arrival [in New Zealand] were talking about my debut in 2004 when I got a hundred and this is almost like a second coming for me – an opportunity for a fresh start and hopefully the result will be similar."

Strauss has played 43 Tests for England since his Lord's debut, scoring 3,223 runs at an average of 40.79.