Strauss believes in England

Andrew Strauss has confidence in his players ahead of the eagerly-awaited Ashes series which starts tomorrow

Andrew Strauss is confident he will lead an England side into the first npower Test tomorrow with the character to handle the pressure and expectation of playing in the Ashes.

The England captain has emphasised to his team the importance of staying calm amid the intensity of the series if they are to plot a successful campaign and repeat the success of 2005.

He is well aware he also needs his players to perform in the big moments and believes he has a squad capable of stepping up to establish themselves as Ashes heroes over the next seven weeks.

“The key to the series is how you handle those pressure moments and there are going to be plenty of them," said Strauss, who will captain England in an Ashes Test for the first time in Cardiff tomorrow.

"That's going to be a bit of a test of character and a bit of a test of courage and technique.

"You have to be prepared for that and be mentally switched on enough to come through that, come out the other side and then apply the pressure on the opposition."

Four years ago players like all-rounder Andrew Flintoff, Kevin Pietersen, captain Michael Vaughan and Strauss himself made important contributions to England’s memorable triumph.

England will again be reliant on the experience of Strauss, Flintoff and Pietersen if they are to beat Australia, but the skipper is equally confident there are other members of the side who can step up and make a telling contribution.

There could be up to five players in England's starting line-up - Ravi Bopara, Matt Prior, Graeme Swann, Stuart Broad and Graham Onions - who are yet to taste the unique atmosphere of the Ashes, but Strauss insisted: "I'm very happy with the characters we've got in our side.

According to Strauss, there are no weak links in an England side brimming with confidence as the build-up draws to a close

"All 11 of them have shown before that they can handle those situations. An Ashes series is slightly different and we've only got probably half our team that have played in an Ashes series before.

"The guys that have come in have an opportunity to show they can do it in an Ashes series. I've got very few concerns in my head that there are any weak links and that's encouraging."

England were due to train at Cardiff for the final time this morning before they assess their options for the opening Test, with the main conundrum being whether to play Monty Panesar as part of a twin spin attack with Swann, an option that would leave seamer Onions disappointed.

Unlike Australia, who will be without Brett Lee after his rib injury ruled him out of the opening Test, England have a clean bill of health and are raring to start their Ashes campaign.

"The guys are champing at the bit to get out there and play now,” added Strauss. “There's been a big build-up, but everything's going exactly according to plan.

"The guys are all pretty confident and very excited about the prospect of going out there and representing their country in an Ashes series, which is a pretty big thing for any England cricketer."