'Flower, Strauss key to England success'

England Cricket Board's Managing Director Hugh Morris believes the team's brilliant performance against world number one India in the ongoing Test series is a result of coach Andy Flower and captain Andrew Strauss' "outstanding leadership".

Leading 2-0 in the series, England can topple India from the top spot if they win the Edgbaston Test starting August 10.

"One of the most important reasons is we have outstanding leadership in Flower and Strauss. They've shown a clear direction and vision to the players and management," Morris told BBC Radio 5 live's Sportsweek programme.

"A lot of hard work has gone in over the last few years to get us to this position. The short-term target is to win at Edgbaston and what we've got to try and do is sustain it over a period of time," he added.

Morris said both Flower and Strauss would be important for the development of English cricket in the coming years.

"Very recently Andy committed his future to England cricket. We always said that after the Ashes and World Cup we would sit down and begin to plot a strategy over the next period of time," Morris said.

"He's on a staff employment contract, he's got a long-term notice period to that contract and he's very committed to the post," he added.