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Strauss demands character

Image: Andrew Strauss: Looking for an immediate response from his side

Andrew Strauss has called for his England side to draw on their resolve and show character following last week's humiliating defeat.

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Andrew Strauss has called for his England side to draw on their resolve and show character following last week's humiliating defeat. After a ten wicket loss inside three days against Pakistan in the first Test, the World No.1 side are under pressure to maintain their ranking. England captain Strauss, who himself failed to feature heavily with only 25 runs, admits that his side simply didn't make the grade in the first Test. "We clearly let ourselves down in Dubai, we've got to hold up our hands and say there are no excuses for that we didn't play well enough," he told Sky Sports News. "But that's ok, you're not going to get everything your own way in the game of cricket." The series opener saw Pakistan off-spinner Saeed Ajmal tear through the England batting order with career best figures of 7-55, before completing a ten-wicket haul.

Resilience

None of the England top-six were able to make any contribution of note, the stand-out performance being wicket-keeper Matt Prior's unbeaten 70 in the first innings. However Strauss, who will open the batting alongside Alistair Cook for the 100th time, believes England have the capability of making a comeback in the second Test which starts on Wednesday in Abu Dhabi. "It's how you come back from setbacks that is the true measure of a side," he added. "This gives us a good opportunity to show our resilience, our character and our fight and our hunger and all those things people associate with a good side."

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