Strauss unconcerned about harmony in squad

It took a while for Andrew Strauss to focus on the Test, not just because it is a “dead” game; in fact it feels more like a drowned one, so bad was the weather for Thursday. In any case there was curiosity about how Strauss felt about his fellow Test specialist Kevin Pietersen. Would his reluctant retirement from all one-day cricket cause a problem in the dressing room? Unsurprisingly Strauss did not think so. “I don’t worry about harmony in the dressing room. I don’t want to speak for KP but I think in some ways he is relieved that it is all done and dusted. He has every right to make that decision.” Strauss pointed out potential benefits for England after Pietersen’s decision. “Hopefully we will get more from him at Test level and it allows him to prolong his career. There is a lot of cricket left in him and he is in good form at the moment.” Of course, England’s Test captain only has a peripheral influence over what happens at one-day level. “I was not very much involved [perhaps he should have been] but I knew talks were going on. Kevin knew the ramifications and he says he is excited at the challenges for the rest of the summer.”Strauss, who only played four Twenty20 matches for England, said: “I understand the reasons for lumping them [the two forms of the game] together. It’s not draconian, but for cricketing reasons.” It was easier for him to justify England’s decision to omit Jimmy Anderson. “From Jimmy’s point of view a rotation policy is a tricky subject. But we know that with the current demands on our bowlers they can’t play every game so you have to look at opportunities where you can give the odd player a rest and this opportunity has presented itself. It is probably the best one we will have all summer. Obviously every cricketer wants to play in every game but if we manage our resources better than other teams it gives us a slight advantage. “I think having spoken to him [Anderson] he understands the policy and the need for it. But it’s always tricky when you’re the one left out who wants to play. That’s understandable. But you can’t have both sides of the coin. You can’t play every game and still be fresh enough to play to your highest capacity in every game and also to avoid injury.” Strauss remained cagey about England’s final XI, but he did not rule out leaving out Stuart Broad as well. Add the dire forecast, which might produce a scrappy Test, to all the arguments used to justify Anderson’s omission and the case for playing both Graham Onions and Steven Finn is strong. Opportunity The genial Darren Sammy would not regard this as a slight. In fact he justified England’s thinking as articulately as Strauss. “If you look on their bench, Finn and Onions would play in any other Test side in the world. If you look at the schedule, these guys have a lot of cricket and it gives Finn and Onions an opportunity.” Sammy signposted the inclusion of Sunil Narine in his team. “He has got every chance of playing. Everyone’s calling him the mystery spinner and he could come in and make an impact for us. It’s a difficult place for spinners to make their debut but he has a lot up his sleeve and we’re backing him.” However, West Indies may not continue to back all of their failing top order batsmen. England suffered a minor scare when Matt Prior suffered an eye infection. The Surrey wicketkeeper Steven Davies has been called up as cover, but Prior is expected to be fit to play in the Test.from gulf news.