BLOEMFONTEIN, South Africa, (Reuters) – England must improve on their performances in the recent Ashes victory over  Australia in order to repeat that success in South Africa, captain Andrew Strauss said yesterday.  

“In some ways we will have to play better than we have  played, certainly in my time as an England player,” Strauss told  a news conference.  

“That’s a bit of a step up for us. We are all aware at this  stage of our development we are not the finished product by any  means.”  

England recorded a 2-1 home win over Australia in August and  it is South Africa who now occupy top spot in the test rankings.  

“As a group we understand the extent of the challenge that  this tour sets us,” said Strauss.  

“This is an opportunity for us to see where we are as a side  and also to make some steps forward in terms of becoming more  consistent.”  

The last time England toured South Africa in 2004-05,  Michael Vaughan’s team beat the hosts 2-1.  

“(Beating) the number one side at home is as hard as it can  get,” added Strauss. “There’s a lot of hard work to be done if  we want to get there and achieve that goal.”