Bangalore, February 27: England Skipper Andrew Strauss said the big game against India tomorrow will be a confidence booster for the team in the World Cup and expected his team to perform much better compared to the tie against the Netherlands.
Addressing his pre-match press conference yesterday at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium here, Strauss exuded confidence that the remarkable transformation of the English team during the last two years would be put to test today.
Stating that he had been receiving conflicting reports about the wicket in which the teams would be playing, Strauss said his batsmen were well equipped to tackle Indian spinners. He, however, said, ”The team’s fielding would play a major role in tomorrow’s game.” Brushing aside the team’s fielding lapses against the Netherlands who gave England a none-too easy win in a Group B fixture, Strauss said the team had been working on the fielding practices over the last couple of days to build upon the tremendous improvements made during the last two years.
He, however, admitted that ”It’s a big challenge to take India on home conditions” and added that ” a win tomorrow will tremendously boost the confidence of the team for the remaining matches of the World Cup.” The England Captain declined to come out with his strategy for today’s match, stating that the weather would play a big role. He would have to access the conditions in the morning before deciding on the strategy or the team composition, he said.
Bangalore had more than 30 minutes of torrential downpour on Friday evening and had a overcast sky for most part of the day yesterday. Meteorological Centre had forecast cloudy and overcast skies over the next two days with a brief spells of rain in the evening.
Strauss said his team was perfectly fit and looking ahead for the match.
-Agencies