London, Aug 02: England captain Andrew Strauss has said his players are determined to win the second Test match against South Africa in Headingley, which could help them retain their world number one ranking in Test cricket.
A win against Proteas would level the series, but England must not lose as defeat at Headingley would force Strauss’s side to relinquish the numero uno crown they have held for almost a year.
Strauss believes his team possesses the quality required to safeguard their top dog status in the Test arena.
“There’s clearly a steely determination amongst the troops to show that we are better than we showed last week. In the past, when we have lost a game we have always bounced back well and I’m very confident we’ll come out here and play a lot of good cricket this week,” The Telegraph quoted Strauss, as saying.
“Being No1 isn’t something we focus on a day-to-day basis but we want to win this series. If we lose it, we lose that ranking as well, which will hurt. It’s going to take a little bit of character and guts but I know we’ve got a bit of that in the squad,” he added.
© ANI
