England captain Andrew Strauss frustrated by winter struggles England Test captain Andrew Strauss has expressed his frustration at having his players defend him following his lengthy run without a century and his team's poor form on the sub-continent. Spinner Graeme Swann praised Strauss for his measured response to what he described as a "witch hunt" against the 35-year-old, whose position came into question for the first time in his three-year reign after the tourists lost their fourth straight Test in Galle to go 1-0 down in their series against Sri Lanka. In an interview with former England skipper Michael Atherton in The Times, he said: "Well nobody is beyond criticism. I didn't feel, I don't feel, that the talk of me finishing after that game was right. I can't agree with that, but those are the things you have to deal with as an England player. I hate my players having to come out and defend me; as a captain you want to feel that you are one of the first names on the teamsheet, so that has been very frustrating. But I was so determined, and feel very determined to take the team further. Strauss has not scored a Test century since the first Ashes Test in November 2010, but finished the tour on a positive note with a hard-working 61 in the first innings en route to a series-levelling eight-wicket win in Colombo earlier this month. "What Colombo has taught me is how much gas there is left in the tank yet," he added. No-one likes to be the topic of the month; it's not fun to feel that pressure. I had a long chat with [coach] Andy [Flower] and we agreed that sometimes when you become the focus it forces you to confront the problem. It shouldn't get to the stage where you need a jab to perform but it often does. There are countless examples of players who have timed their run late to re-establish their credentials.