England captain Andrew Strauss has vowed his side "will push on" as they look to build on their stunning series-opening win against Sri Lanka when the second Test starts at Lord's here on Friday. Strauss's men dismissed the tourists for just 82 inside 25 overs to win a rain-marred first Test by an innings and 14 runs in Cardiff on Monday.
Victory at Lord's, the Middlesex opening batsman's home ground, will give England an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the three-match series. But Strauss told England to be wary of a Sri Lanka side still smarting from the embarrassment of such an unlikely loss.
"We're pretty buoyant after the way we managed to get the victory at the end there in Cardiff but we're also aware that it's right back to square one again here at Lord's," Strauss told Sky Sports at Lord's on Thursday, as he reflected on a third straight innings win after Ashes triumphs in Melbourne and Sydney.
"I don't think any of us want to take our foot off the pedal now. "We've got to push on and keep challenging ourselves to get better and better. We know that Lord's generally is a good wicket. "You've got to fight hard for your wickets and it's usually five days of very hard work if you want to win a Test match." The 34-year-old is anticipating a renewed challenge from Sri Lanka.
"You always expect a team to come out fighting," he said. "I'm sure they would have been disappointed to be bowled out on that last day and with the quality of players they have they'll want to prove a point or two, so we're expecting a pretty strong fightback from them.
Meanwhile, he said England had yet to decide between seamers Steven Finn and Jade Dernbach when it came to taking the place vacated by injured Ashes star James Anderson, even though Finn would be playing on his home ground and Dernbach is uncapped.