Strauss's 63 was not enough to threaten Australia at the Rose Bowl
Captain Andrew Strauss lamented England's batting failings as they crashed to a third successive defeat in the one-day series against Australia.
Strauss played a lone hand with 63 as England's 228-9 at the Rose Bowl was easily overhauled by the tourists.
The skipper said: "It was Groundhog Day if I'm honest. We didn't get enough runs on the board and our top six batters didn't perform well enough.
"That's an issue we need to address, though we bowled pretty well."
Strauss also bemoaned England's fielding - they missed three run-outs and dropped match-winner Cameron White before he had reached his century.
"We created some chances and didn't take those chances but 230 is always difficult to defend on a good wicket," he added.
He was jeered by some at the Hampshire ground when he suggested that changes would not be made for the sake of it at the top of the order, despite the continued struggles of Ravi Bopara, Matt Prior, Owais Shah and Paul Collingwood.
Strauss said: "It's mainly a confidence thing. The guys in the the top six have earned the right to play for England, they're not bad players.
"In one-day cricket you have to go out there and be confident but you need to have good decision-making as well, so it's about getting that balance right.
"The situation is the same as it was at the start of the series, we need to win four games and we can't afford any slip-ups now. No-one likes to be losing games of cricket, but we need to stand up, learn the lessons and do better."
For Saturday's match at Lord's, Stuart Broad is expected to be fit to add an edge to England's bowling. But it is the batting that lacks menace, and the only specialist replacement batsman, Joe Denly is "a little bit touch-and-go", Strauss revealed.
Michael Clarke ended his stint as Australia's stand-in skipper for the rested Ricky Ponting with a 100% record and a half-century.
He confirmed Ponting would return at three with White moving down the order and said: "The wicket was a little bit two-paced. Another 20 runs would have been tough to get."
White was named man of the match and agreed his innings had been his best performance in an Australia shirt.
He said: "The game was set up by the bowlers but it was great that myself and Michael could get a partnership together to win the game. I enjoyed the opportunity to bat at number three."
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