London, Jan 14 : England skipper Andrew Strauss can complete a year of amazing success by inspiring his team to avoid a defeat in the Fourth Test against South Africa.

Strauss has led his team to victory in both one-day and Test series against one of the top ranked team in the world when England arrived here.

It is more remarkable to note that Strauss took the captaincy just a year and a week ago in the wake of the Kevin Pietersen-Peter Moores fiasco.

Strauss has expertly made sure England sustain their winning habit following the Ashes celebrations. In 2005, after the Ashes glory they suffered a sharp downturn, The Sun reports.

“This time, nobody was under any misconceptions that we’d made it or that we were No. 1 in the world. In 2005, some of us could be forgiven for thinking that. We still recognise we have a long way to go and we all understood how hard it would be coming to South Africa,” Strauss said.

“In the past, we were guilty of being top heavy with senior players who did a lot of talking in meetings and made it harder for new guys. I was one of the guys who used to say a lot in meetings.

“We’ve tried to be more inclusive of new players, encourage them to say their piece, air their views and feel like they are an important cog in the machine. I feel that creates a better environment,” Strauss said.

“It’s great having a side full of 11 world-class players but you can also have a side greater than the sum of its parts if you get the environment right. Our work ethic throughout the tour has been exceptional and we''ve put in some good, gutsy displays,” he added. (ANI)