Andrew Strauss is intent on maintaining the aggressive policy which he believes can bring England success against Australia.

The Middlesex left-hander was heavily criticised after mis-hitting pull shots inboth innings of England's defeat in the first Test.

But he believes an aggressive policy with bat and ball is the only way forward for the tourists if they are to bounce back from their 277-run defeat in Brisbane.

And he points to the example set by Hampshire star Kevin Pietersen in the first Test.

He said: ''Being positive against Australia is the way to play, there's no doubt about that, but there are ways of being positive and there are ways of being reckless and it's finding the line between that.''

''If they're bowling well on a helpful wicket you can be positive by getting a lot of singles, but on other wickets you can expand your game a little bit more.

''We're going to keep being positive and keep taking the game to Australia and that's the way to beat them - we know that. Every team that has done that against Australia has been successful and we've got to continue trying to do that.''

As part of that process Strauss insists he will continue to try to play the pull shot despite his double failure in Brisbane in an attempt to impose himself on Australia's attack.

''Any time you're looking to hook or pull, it's a question of picking the right ball and on two occasions in the last match I didn't do that,'' he explained.

''It's important for me personally to learn a lesson from that, but it's also a big run-scoring shot for me. It's a question of balance really.

''Every time you get out you're disappointed with yourself but in a way it's slightly better when you know you're at fault rather than the bowler bowled a great delivery that your technique wasn't able to cope with.

''The most frustrating thing about Brisbane was that I felt in very good form and actually out there felt very comfortable.

"In situations like that it is a little bit more frustrating to give your wicket away and I suppose it adds a little bit more motivation to try and make it pay if I get in this week.'' Although Strauss was not successful, scoring only 23 runs in the match, that same level of aggression served Paul Collingwood and Pietersen well in the second innings during a defiant 153-run stand.

That partnership prevented Australia wrapping up their resounding triumph in four days and although both players fell just short of their centuries, Strauss believes the rest of the squad can draw on their stand for inspiration.

He said: ''I really feel there is still a positive vibe in the camp. It's not doom and gloom by any stretch of the imagination.

''In some ways it was because of the way Collingwood and Pietersen played that gave us something to take from the game. It's all about developing from that and using that as a motivation to play better in this Test match.''

Strauss added: ''For the first three days of that Test match we didn't play to the levels we need to beat Australia.

''We all know that and we know there are a few areas we need to improve on and we just need to go out and do it - we've seen from past series you can come back from an early defeat but you need to learn the lessons from that and that's what we're very keen to do.''

England have still to decide whether to stick with the same line-up - as they did after losing the first Test of the 2005 Ashes series - or play two spinners.

The Adelaide Oval has a history of being spin-friendly and Monty Panesar could come into the equation as a replacement for Lancashire seamer James Anderson.