Strauss defends boot camp despite Anderson injury

England captain Andrew Strauss has defended the trip to Germany that resulted in fast bowler James Anderson suffering a broken rib.

The England management opted to send the squad for what has been dubbed by sections of the press as a boot camp. The bonding sessions has been described as extremely positive ahead of what is likely to be a demanding Ashes tour, but it came at a cost as Anderson emerged from a spell of boxing with a broken rib.

The Ashes gets underway on November 25 and Strauss is confident Anderson will be available to lead the attack at the Gabba.

Asked if the camp was a mistake, Strauss told Sky Sports News: "I don't think so. We gained a huge amount out of it. The reason we had it when we did was it gave us a huge amount of time ahead of the first Test in case there were injuries. We weren't expecting injuries and the guys taking the course were told to make sure that did not happen, but things do happen.

"We are professional sportsmen and you are going to get injuries, whether it is in the nets, the gym sessions or on one of these camps. It is not ideal but we have every confidence Jimmy will be fighting fit well before the first Test.

"Hopefully the side benefited from a shared experience, it was a tough one and we will need to be tough over there."

It has been reported that Anderson is touch and go to make the first Test, but Strauss claims the indications are the Lancashire bowler will be a 100% for the Brisbane curtain raiser.

"Ideally that will be the case," Strauss said in response to questions on whether Anderson will be ready for the lead-up to the tournament. "The indications are he will have a reasonable amount of time before the first Test but you never know. We have to be prepared as in any tour you will get injuries."

Chris Tremlett is said to have landed the blow that got through Anderson's defences and Strauss joked that his boxing technique may need improvement. "I don't know who it was with, it was three minutes of boxing each. We were well protected so Jimmy's defensive technique needs working on."