England captain Andrew Strauss has refused to press the panic button in the wake of the emphatic 10-wicket defeat at the hands of Pakistan in the first Test match in Dubai.
England could only score 192 and 160 in both the innings, and the loss has given Pakistan a 1-0 lead in the three-match Test series.trauss believes this defeat has given them a plenty to think about doesn't deserves to trigger the panic button as yet.
"There's plenty of things to ponder but we won't push the panic button. We are disappointed with the way we played but we will show character and come back stronger," The BBC quoted Strauss, as saying.
Its was England's first Test defeat since December 2010 and also the first time when they had failed to reach 200 in a Test innings since their defeat in the Perth Ashes Test in December 2010, where they scored 187 and 123.
Strauss praised the Pakistan team for tightening the screws once his team was reeling at 45/3 at lunch on the first day of the Test match.
"We got caught off-guard in the first session. All credit to Pakistan, once they got ahead they didn't let us back in," he added.
He also believes the batsmen failed to adapt to the conditions despite playing well in the warm up matches.
"Our preparation has been good, we played good cricket in the warm-up games, we just didn't react well enough to the conditions. To lose wickets early against the spinners put our batsmen under pressure," he added.
Strauss also defended his team selection for the game and said that the bowlers did a good job for the team.
"I wouldn't fault what the bowlers did - they did exceptionally well. That's not where we're focusing our attention. The most important thing is that we get big runs on the board," he added.
 |
                                                                                           |
 |