We will try to stop Sachin's 100th ton: Strauss

England cricket captain Andrew Strauss has said that while admires Sachin Tendulkar for his achievements in the game, as also for the manner in which he has carried himself on and off the field, his team will try to prevent the master from reaching his 100th international ton during the forthcoming series that begins from July 21.

"I have had a few chats with him (Tendulkar) over the years. He is the ultimate ambassador for the game, very humble, very polite and he enjoys talking about the game. He is obviously still in love with the game of cricket and that''s what drives him on," the Independent quoted Strauss, as saying.

"It would be a fantastic way for him to reach 100 hundreds. It would be a bit of a fairy tale for him, but I am not a big fan of those sort of fairy tales to be honest with you. I prefer our own fairy tales," Strauss added.

Strauss also said that he regarded Indian cricket team coach Duncan Fletcher as a “great father-figure”.

“DuncanFletcher, he has been there, done it all, seen it all, and once he worked with you for a while it was very hard not to be very loyal to him as a bloke," Strauss added.

England stands on the verge of history. In the next two months, if they play as well as we think they can, they will become the world''s top-ranked Test nation for the first time.