Strauss calls the tune

How could we ever doubt Andrew Strauss? Barely six months ago he was on the scrapheap, left out of England's tour party for Sri Lanka, forced to beg a one-day contract from a New Zealand state in the hope that it might get him back in the England Test side.

Although he failed in Kiwi domestic cricket, he was called up and he had a mediocre couple of Tests before England went to Napier, having levelled after losing the first Test, and Strauss hit his career-best score, 177, to win the series.

Since then, he has looked to be England's most comfortable batsman. Two fifties in the first two innings of this series against New Zealand were followed today by a splendidly composed hundred that set up the unlikely run-chase of almost 300, 60 more than had previously been achieved at Old Trafford. Aggressive when given the chance, patient when not, Strauss offered barely a chance until he was out for 106 and even then it took an astounding catch by Ross Taylor at slip, a contender for champagne moment if ever there was one, to shift him.

A sixth of Strauss's 48 Tests have been against New Zealand and he seems to like their bowling. It was against New Zealand four years ago that Strauss made his Test debut, compiling a hundred and a near-hundred with such force and sense of destiny that it sent Nasser Hussain into retirement. He followed that with 62 in his next Test innings, before his first failure, a duck and 6 at Trent Bridge. Strauss has a chance to rectify that in the next Test of this series.

In 15 innings against New Zealand, he has scored 776 runs at an average of 52, with three hundreds and four fifties. The only side against whom he averages more, hearteningly, are the second touring team of this summer, South Africa. Strauss's record against them is an average of 73 from ten innings.

It is fair to say that without Strauss, England would not have won today. Ian Bell and Paul Collingwood, both under pressure for their places, saw England home after the idiotic run-out of Kevin Pietersen (honestly, why run two to third man when there is no need for haste?), but how would they have done if the total required were still more than 100, instead of under 50? Both rode their luck, Bell being dropped by Iain O'Brien and Colly surviving a very good leg-before shout from Dan Vettori.

Monty Panesar won the man of the match award for his career-best six-for on Sunday that turned a certain defeat into a sniff of victory. But it took Strauss's determination, inspiring solid near-fifties from Pietersen and Vaughan in support, to ensure that victory was secured. Given that he was top-scorer in England's first innings, too, I'd have been tempted to give the award to him. If England had followed on yesterday, would we have been celebrating a win tonight?