Youngsters free to speak their minds in captain's new model army

Over the next five days England will endeavour to win a gripping Test series which will define Andrew Strauss's brave new era. If the tourists can prevail against South Africa in the fourth Test at The Wanderers starting today it will lay the ghosts of teams and times past.

It is a year this week since Strauss assumed the captaincy and he and the new coach, Andy Flower, have forged a new team with different values. "I just felt that three or four years ago there were three or four senior players who did a lot of talking in meetings and it made it harder for new guys," Strauss said. "It wasn't a conscious thing but it just happened that way. We've tried to be more inclusive of new players, not demand more of them but encourage them to say their piece, air their views and feel like they are an important cog in the machine. I feel that creates a better environment."

In the last few days England's players have declined to say they are better off without Andrew Flintoff and since he made titanic contributions to the team even as recently as last summer they would be fools to do so. Equally, none was quick to say how much he was missed. Flintoff was influential on the pitch and in the dressing room but England have missed neither him nor Stephen Harmison on this tour.

Strauss outlined how he has developed his side in the last 12 months and is adamant that they will not be undermined by having won the Ashes. "Nobody was under any preconceptions last summer that we'd made it or that we were the No 1 team in the world, which in 2005 some of us could be forgiven for thinking. We still recognise we have a long way to go and maybe have more players a little earlier in their careers. So that hasn't been a difficult task. I think we understood the extent of the challenge of coming to South Africa."

Winning breeds happiness but it has taken Flower and Strauss careful nurturing to reach this stage. They were not unhappy when Flintoff retired from Tests and Harmison was dropped for this tour. Strauss said: "It's giving them personal responsibility, it's trusting them to know their games and how to prepare but also challenging them to contribute in other ways as well. It's not just about runs, it's also about how much they are giving to the team. How much they are contributing at meetings, how much they are looking after each other's backs."

Strauss and Flower have been rewarded already with the Ashes and two draws in this series when they were nine wickets down in the second innings. They will need to play at their limit but by Monday, Strauss's England may have truly arrived.