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."

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