Looking ahead to the India-England series, which begins at the Lord's tomorrow, Strauss admitted he is excited about the challenge of taking on world's number one side.

'I think it will be special - any series against India is special anyway. It is going to be a challenge, because India is a very confident side. They have got every right to feel confident about their ability. On the other hand we are playing at home. It has all the makings of a classic series,' Strauss said in this week's ICC Cricket World Radio Show.

ICC Cricket Committee chairman and former West Indies captain Clive Lloyd shared his thoughts on why Test cricket is the ultimate challenge for international players.

'Twenty20 is an exhibition, but Test cricket is an examination in all aspects of your game. When any player retires from the game, he wants to be known as a Test player, as someone who has battled his way through,' says Lloyd.

Former India captain Sourav Ganguly, Australia all-rounder Shane Watson, Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara and ICC CEO Haroon Lorgat joined Lloyd in a special show to celebrate Test cricket's 2000th match.

In London, Strauss admitted that his team would be doing everything to stop Sachin Tendulkar from scoring his 100th international century in the Lord's Test, starting here Thursday.

'I'm sure Sachin would like to get it here and it's our job not to let him do so. If it's a distraction for him, it's great for us,' said Strauss.

The skipper also said that he considered Tendulkar a key to India's plans.

'He's been an outstanding ambassador for the game. The statistics speak for itself. You don't have to rush out with platitudes and superlatives. It's all there -- the longevity, the consistency. He is one of the greatest ever and as ambassador of the game there is no one better,' said Strauss.

Insisting that his team would adopt a cautious approach against Team India, Strauss said, 'They are world's No. 1 team. You don't become number one unless you do well away from home. That's the greatest improvement they have shown over the last two-three years. They are now far more consistent away from home.

'We understand it would not be easy. They are going to be a very strong opposition. But we are prepared for the challenge and ready to overcome it.'

The 34-year-old left-handed batsman termed his side as a far better unit than the one which lost to India in 2007.
'We've improved since 2007. A few players have done very well. (Jonathan) Trott is there, (James) Anderson has become better and (Graeme) Swann has had a dramatic impact,' said Strauss.

'We've done better than possibly any other side in the world as we have won seven of the last eight series we played. But we are not finished yet. We could become number one. But for us the ultimate goal is to be acknowledged by everyone as number one. And that's our long-term goal,' he added.

India's bowling attack will be spearheaded by Zaheer Khan and Strauss said his side wouldn't make a determined effort to dismantle him.

'With Zaheer or anyone else, it's pretty simple -- watch the bad ball and hit it. He's very good but there is no reason to complicate things,' said the captain.

Meanwhile, England have Stuart Broad in their ranks, who could be termed as 'enforcer' and whose steepling bounce is expected to pose a threat to the Indians.

Disappointed that a watered-down version of Decision Review System (DRS) would be used in the series, Strauss explained, 'All I can say is that DRS worked very well for us in the last 12-18 months. We've got more decisions right and we are now used to it.

'We can't use it in this series, it's a half-way kind of a situation and not an ideal one. But that's the situation we're now faced with. We can't be overtly concerned with it for it would be unhelpful.