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NEWS ICC Champions Trophy 2006>Strauss, Pietersen ready to share England responsibility 08th Oct 2006 19.28 IST By Agencies Andrew Strauss and Kevin Pietersen believe their contrasting batting styles can play a vital role in England getting through to the knock-out stages of the Champions Trophy. England are in football's version of 'group of death', placed alongside hosts India and Australia, world's top-ranked side and three-time world champions, while either West Indies or Sri Lanka are expected to fill the fourth slot as a qualifier.
"I think the last one year or two we have shown the attitude. It hasn't been easy with injuries to key players, but the young side has showed a lot of character to come back from being 2-0 down against Pakistan," he said in New Delhi. "It is a case of dealing with pressure and identifying the situation. All that is needed is exposure, and Inzamam alone had more caps than all of us put together." The 25-year-old South Africa-born batsman said he applied the same set of principles to his own hard-hitting batsmanship. "Everything revolves around identifying the situation. It comes with experience," said Pietersen, who alongwith Flintoff, was England's batting cornerstone in the 2005 Ashes series. "In any sport, you will have lot of people with talent but to succeed you have to have the mental strength and long hours of concentration." Strauss, whose burden as top order batsman has doubled with vice-captain Marcus Trescothick's decision not to visit India, said he was prepared for the "dual responsibility" that opening in one-dayers demand. "You have to keep wickets intact and also provide momentum. I am sure I will stand up to the task," Strauss, who led the team against Pakistan at home in Flintoff's absence, said. "Marcus' problems have been well documented now. He is sorting out. He is a long way down that road but this tournament came a bit too early for him to visit India," he said. Strauss said Flintoff would have his full support when leading the side. "We played very well against Pakistan but am sure Fred is going to do a great job," he said. "As a bowling captain, he will need a lot of support from the seniors and I am ready to give that. "He is learning all the while but when you are bowling it is going to be difficult to concentrate. You have to look at field placement, when you have to bowl a long spell or short spell and such things. "When you are batting, the situation is pretty clear. You know either how much you are chasing or what target you are going to set. "When you bowling, things are very fluid. Things change very quickly. But that is why we (the seniors) are there for." Pietersen agreed that England haven't done all that well in the one-dayers. "As an ODI team we haven't performed as well we would have liked to. But we are taking a lot of positives from the series against Pakistan," he said. "The boys are willing to go out there and give their best." Strauss said getting starts has been a problem that had pulled the team down in the limited overs game. "The general rule is to get a good start. In the past, too many times we have been three down too early and it is always a struggle after that in a one-day game," he said. There might a reshuffle in the England batting order, but that did not worry Pietersen. "It is a matter of playing the situation, playing from a base. Whether you are batting at four or five or six, it is not going to be too different," he said. "You might have to play the new ball, the older ball. But even when I bat down, I have been getting in pretty early. "Basically, you have to be a lot more solid and make sure the technique stands up to the situation." Ian Bell, who has been in the shadow of Flintoff and Pietersen, said it would be better for the likes of him to leave the big hitters to themselves. "They are of different calibre, I would play the game my way. It is good for the team to have a range of players who bring different styles," he said. Also View In-Depth Coverage: ICC Champions Trophy 2006 Team Page: England Team Page: India | LIVE CRICKET COVERAGE NEWS ~ Gilchrist has no plans to retire after World Cup ~ Ganguly's new batting approach may cost him sixer record ~ India 'squash the Orange' in World Cup warm-up game ~ Symonds gets a new hairdo for World Cup ~ Dhoni readies himself for stand-up act at World Cup (more in NEWS) FACE-TO-FACE ~ 500-mark a possibility in World Cup: Hayden ~ Minnows add charm to World Cup: Dravid (more in FACE-TO-FACE) COLUMNS ~ Will Sri Lanka replicate 1996 World Cup success? (more in COLUMNS) OFF-THE-FIELD ~ Ganguly again the darling of corporate world ~ Ganguly roped in as brand ambassador of Puma (more in OFF-THE-FIELD) PLAYERS Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble (more PLAYERS) TEAMS India, South Africa, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Australia, West Indies, Zimbabwe, England, New Zealand, Bangladesh, Kenya, Holland | 
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