“He’s a good character. You can see the way he holds himself that he has quite an old head on young shoulders.
“That’s all the constituent parts you look for in a young player. Obviously it’s a challenge for him coming in now but I think he’s got every chance of doing really well.”
Strauss and coach Andy Flower have been searching for answers over the past 10 days to explain their dismal performance at the Oval, where they suffered one of the most comprehensive defeats in Test match history.
While the team hierarchy are eager to paint the innings and 12 run loss as nothing more than an aberration, there is a growing impression that England’s players are struggling to sustain the hunger desired to stay at the top of the world game. It is not a notion Strauss is willing to entertain.
“There’s clearly a steely determination among the troops to show that we are better than we showed last week,” he said.
“In the past when we have lost a game we have always bounced back well and I anticipate us doing that this week.
“We reached the No1 ranking in the world and we really want to go on and stay No1 for a long period of time.
“If we lose the series we lose the ranking as well, which will hurt.”
Key to England’s success over the next five days will be their ability to find a way to unpick the defences of South Africa’s Oval centurions Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis and Graeme Smith on a Headingley wicket which has historically produced results.
Smith flew back to Cape Town for the birth of his first child at the conclusion of the first Test and the South Africa captain says his team are ready to replace England at the top of the world rankings. “It is the challenge for all of us to try and close that gap,” Smith said.
“Cricket is exciting at the moment because all the teams are tight and every series is exciting to watch between the top teams. Our goals is to push forward — as is England’s.
“We are both so close to touching our hands on top spot.
“England have got it but if we could be the team that could push forward and be consistently top level then that’s our goal.”
Graeme Swann was today dropped for the Headingley Test as England opted for a four-seam bowling attack with Steven Finn replacing the Nottinghamshire off-spinner.
It is the first time Swann has been left out by England since the abandoned Test match against the West Indies in Antigua in 2009, a run spanning 44 games.
Captain Andrew Strauss opted to bowl this morning after opposite number Graeme Smith lost the toss.
