Strauss wants focused England

England captain Andrew Strauss says his side need to move on from their historic Ashes success as they prepare for their first Test of the summer against Sri Lanka in Cardiff.

The 3-1 series triumph Down Under saw the 34-year-old and his team-mates rightfully lauded as they secured the urn on Australian soil for the first time in 24 years. But Strauss has warned his side they will need to be fully focused as they face Sri Lanka and world number one side India this summer.

He said: "It's a big challenge, it's an exciting Test summer ahead of us and there is a real determination to reconnect to what happened in the Ashes, but also to move on from that."

He added: "We will be tested by two really good sides and we need to respond really well to that. I would be disappointed if we ease into this summer, we need to hit the ground running.

"There is a real good vibe because we have not been together as a group for a while, so there is an excitement at being together again and we need to take that onto the field."

Strauss refused to be drawn on his final XI for the SWALEC Stadium encounter which gets under way on Thursday, denying that a conversation he had with Steven Finn during England's net session was him telling the Middlesex seamer he would miss out

"I was just talking to him about how he bowled in the nets yesterday," said Strauss.

There is an expectation that England should prove too strong for the tourists, whose bowling attack has been hit by the retirements of Muttiah Muralitharan and Lasith Malinga, as well as an injury to the promising Nuwan Pradeep.

But opener Strauss says England cannot afford to take their opponents lightly.

"They have won both their tour games and played well," he said. "They have some high quality players, some of them we don't know much about but that does not mean they are not good bowlers, we expect a stern test. Sri Lanka are always competitive, they are a streetwise cricket side and they are a tough nut to crack."