Andrew Strauss is eyeing an Australian Grand Slam in cricket

Captain Andrew Strauss is aiming to lead England to an historic Grand Slam against the Aussies over the next two weeks.

Victory in the five-match NatWest Series - starting at the Rose Bowl today - will give skipper Strauss and his players dominance over Australia in every format of the game.
 
The Sun quoted Strauss as saying: "That has a nice sound to it! Australia are the team to beat in one-day cricket and are a well-drilled unit - but we are confident."
 
England holds The Ashes and thrashed Australia in the final of last month's World Twenty20.

Their two most recent 50-over showdowns with Australia resulted in a 6-1 thumping last September and then a nine-wicket defeat in the semi-final of the Champions Trophy in October.

But England have transformed their limited-overs form in recent months with Strauss and head coach Andy Flower preaching a brand of vibrant and fearless cricket.

Strauss added: "We had been bumbling along and not looking like a side that would threaten consistently against the best in the world. We had to ask some tough questions about how we could improve."

Strauss admitted: "The reality is we're all under pressure to make runs and as captain I'm no different. We're full of confidence as a batting group."