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England skipper Andrew Strauss will push Ashes glory to the back of his mind when their World Cup adventure starts here today.

The series Down Under was an experience that no Englishman who took part in it will ever forget but today is the day it enters the past.

Their opponents may only be Holland, and it may only be the first of England's six games in Group B, but the goal has to be to win the World Cup for the first time when the final eventually takes place in Mumbai on April 2.

That would be an achievement to rank alongside and perhaps even surpass what England accomplished by winning a Test series in Australia for the first time in 24 years.

That does not change the fact that subliminally, at least, there must be a temptation among England's players, and fans, to regard this marathon tournament as an Ashes afterthought.

That was certainly the way they viewed the one-day series in Australia which England, bedevilled by injuries and mental tiredness, lost 6-1.

But when Strauss bounded up five flights of stairs at the stadium yesterday to address the media, he insisted England were as motivated as ever about the competition ahead.

"It isn't going to be a problem for this group of players to raise itself to the same pitch we achieved for the Ashes," Strauss said. "Not for the World Cup.

"It only happens every four years. If you are lucky, you might play in two or three in your career. You don't want to have any regrets at the end of it so I don't think that's a problem.

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"That was an accusation you could have levelled at us in the one-day series against Australia but not in the World Cup. We are up for it. We are excited. There is a good vibe and buzz about everything out here at the moment. It is a massive event and we want to do ourselves proud."

The tournament has attracted plenty of criticism because its format of two groups of seven teams, with four qualifying from each group, makes it not only more cumbersome but less likely to let an underdog force its way into the quarter-finals.

But England are in the tougher of the two groups and a slip-up against any one of Holland, Ireland or Bangladesh would risk Bangladesh qualifying for the last eight at England's expense.

That is unlikely to happen. For all the frailty they showed in the one-dayers against Australia, this is an England side still full of momentum and belief. The promotion of Kevin Pietersen to open the batting and Matt Prior's move to the middle order has reinvigorated the side and breathed a renewed sense of optimism into England's players.

Strauss said that he had taken great encouragement from last week's warm-up victory over Pakistan in Bangladesh when England returned to the aggressive style that has rewarded them so much in the past couple of years.

"It is all about confidence," Strauss said. "And we gained quite a lot of confidence out of that Pakistan game purely because it was going back to a formula that has worked for us quite well in the past."

Joint hosts India are the favourites to win with Australia, Sri Lanka and South Africa all priced at lower odds than England, too.

But if Strauss and his side can find a way to make everything they achieved during the Ashes work for them rather than against them, more glory may yet await.

Watch World Cup video at www.mirror.co.uk

Labels: Andrew, Ashes, glory, Holland, Match, Mirrorcouk, Strauss

England, thrashed 6-1 in the recent one-day international series in Australia, narrowly avoided being embarrassed by minnows Canada on Wednesday, when they laboured to a 17-run win in Dhaka.

England play a final warm-up match against Pakistan in Dhaka on Thursday before transferring to India where they face Holland, who stunned them in the World Twenty20 opener at Lord’s two years ago, in their first World Cup match.

Strauss was one of the batsmen dismissed cheaply in the Canada match as England struggled to adapt from quicker, bouncy pitches in Australia to the slower surfaces on the subcontinent.

“We only arrived here a couple of days ago and the conditions are clearly very different to what we experienced in Australia, so the key for us is making our adjustments,” Strauss said. “It is important we improve quickly.”

England have been runners-up in the World Cup three times, but failed to make it beyond the Super Eight stage in 2007.

Memories of the defeat by Holland at Lord’s in the 2009 World Twenty20 are still reasonably fresh in the memory and Strauss has warned his players that there will be no easy matches in the World Cup.

“There is going to be no easy fixture in this tournament and that bodes pretty well for the success of it as a whole,” he said.

The 14-nation tournament opens tomorrow with a match in Dhaka between co-hosts Bangladesh and India. The final is in Mumbai on April 2.

England off-spinner Graeme Swann will be available to play against Holland having delayed his arrival to await the birth of his first child, a son called Wilfred, who was born on Thursday.

Swann was always expected to miss England’s warm-up games but he will fly to India at the weekend after his wife, Sarah, gave birth.

“This is an incredibly special day for us, and we are both absolutely delighted and very proud parents,” Swann said.

“Both Sarah and Wilfred are doing very well, and I am looking forward to enjoying the next couple of days with them both before I fly out to join the team for the World Cup.”

The birth completed a busy 24 hours for Swann, who was found not guilty of a drink-driving charge on Wednesday after a long-running court case.

Strauss and the rest of the England team attended the opening ceremony at the Bangabandhu National Stadium in Dhaka yesterday. The highlight of the two-hour spectacle was an aerial cricket match, where high-flying acrobats hit and chased after a laser-beamed ball against a vertical backdrop of a playing pitch.

Indian singer Sonu Nigam and Bangladesh-based Runa Laila, as well as veteran Canadian rocker Bryan Adams, were the headline acts in front of a crowd of 25,000.

Labels: Andrew, approach, change, Cricket, England, rapid, Strauss, Telegraphcouk, wants, World

Andrew Strauss is certain England's historic Ashes success has not been undermined by their one-day series thrashing.

Battered and bruised England flew home from Australia with critics dismissing their chances in this month's World Cup.

After winning the Ashes 3-1 for their first triumph Down Under for 24 years, England were hammered 6-1 in the one-dayers, in which six players suffered tour-ending injuries.

But skipper Strauss said his team should be proud of what they had achieved and had nothing to beat themselves up over.

He said: "They are two different forms of the game and that Ashes victory was incredibly special and one that we'll savour forever.

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"You talk to people and they say 'great tour' even though we have just lost 6-1. "We're disappointed with the one-day results, but very happy with what we've achieved overall."

Batsman Eoin Morgan remains the biggest doubt for the World Cup with a "substantial break" to the top of the middle finger on his left hand.

"We have spoken about replacements, but we have to see what the specialist says first," said Strauss.

"There's no point in thinking too far ahead if Morgan is available."

Former India skipper Sourav Ganguly has announced his retirement from all forms of cricket.

Labels: Andrew, England, insists, Mirrorcouk, nothing, Strauss, themselves