Andrew Strauss heads home from Asia confident his future as skipper is secure after England ended a miserable run in Tests by beating Sri Lanka to draw the series 1-1 and retain their number-one ranking.
The tourists eased to an eight-wicket win in the second and final Test at the P. Sara Oval in Colombo on Saturday to make amends for the 75-run loss in the first Test in Galle, which was their fourth straight Test match defeat this year.
England's losses, including an embarrassing 3-0 whitewash at the hands of Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates, had left them teetering on the brink of losing their top ranking.
The one blemish in the hard-fought series against Sri Lanka was Strauss's own batting form. He made just 114 runs in four innings at an average of 28.50.
The left-hander appeared to have found his rhythm when he hit 61 in the first innings of the second Test, but he fell for a duck in the first over of the second innings as England chased a modest target of 94.
Strauss has not added to his 19 Test centuries in 25 innings and has just one three-figure knock in his past 50 innings, raising questions about his future in the side. But the skipper said he had never doubted himself or his leadership role.
The tourists eased to an eight-wicket win in the second and final Test at the P. Sara Oval in Colombo on Saturday to make amends for the 75-run loss in the first Test in Galle, which was their fourth straight Test match defeat this year.England's losses, including an embarrassing 3-0 whitewash at the hands of Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates, had left them teetering on the brink of losing their top ranking.
The one blemish in the hard-fought series against Sri Lanka was Strauss's own batting form. He made just 114 runs in four innings at an average of 28.50.
The left-hander appeared to have found his rhythm when he hit 61 in the first innings of the second Test, but he fell for a duck in the first over of the second innings as England chased a modest target of 94.
Strauss has not added to his 19 Test centuries in 25 innings and has just one three-figure knock in his past 50 innings, raising questions about his future in the side. But the skipper said he had never doubted himself or his leadership role.
