Strauss guided his team to victory with his 21st Test fifty

Captain Andrew Strauss was relieved to record a nine-wicket win over Pakistan, England's sixth straight Test victory.

"We had to work pretty hard for it in the end," he said. "There were a few butterflies in the morning knowing we had to chase over a hundred.

"We were quite reassured though by the fact the wicket seemed to have died, so we had to withstand some pressure and thankfully we got over the line.

"Our bowlers were exceptional and our lead of 180-odd was crucial to have."

England won the first Test at Trent Bridge by 354 runs and were always in command at Edgbaston after bowling out Pakistan for 72.

Strauss added: "It was a little bit like Trent Bridge - there were not just great deliveries but no deliveries to score off so that was an outstanding performance."

Kevin Pietersen top-scored with a determined 80 in the first innings, sharing an important century stand with Jonathan Trott.

"It was a scrappy innings but it was a tough time to bat, the ball was nipping around a bit, it was a bit two-paced and they were crucial runs, he had to dig deep as did Jonathan Trott," added Strauss.

"Test cricket is not all about standing there and smacking boundaries everywhere, sometimes you have to dig deep and find a way of getting a score."

606: DEBATE It has been a fairly professional performance from England again, my only concern was how quickly they seemed to get frustrated when they couldn't get rid of the Pakistan tail and the bowlers seemed to resort to bowling short too often rich1uk

One blemish for England was Stuart Broad being fined 50% of his match fee after hurling the ball at Pakistan's Zulqarnain Haider on Sunday.

"It didn't look very good but what I would say is Stuart has been outstanding this season, he has been very controlled, he hasn't been falling foul of the umpires and I think this is a one-off incident," Strauss said.

The captain also gave his support to Alastair Cook, who averages only 14 in home Tests this summer, and expects him to be opening the batting in the third Test at The Oval on 18 August.

"It's up to the selectors but I know what a quality player he is, I know these two Test matches haven't been very easy for opening batsmen in particular, he's been an outstanding contributor over a long of time and I'm very comfortable having him at the top of the order there," said Strauss.

England spinner Graeme Swann, who bowled only two overs in the first Test such was the dominance of England's seamers, was delighted to play a pivotal role at Edgbaston.

The 31-year-old captured a career-best 6-65 in the Pakistan second innings and earned the man-of-the-match award.

"After standing at slip and having nothing to do you start to worry," he said. "I thought it would spin but wasn't sure how much of a bowl I'd get. I'm delighted with the way it went."

Swann struck in the first over of a spell for the 20th time when he produced a stunning delivery that turned sharply to bowl Imran Farhat.

"I seem to have this knack in my first over of taking a wicket," said Swann. "There was a fair bit of luck in that first bowl. My first few were good but sometimes it just comes out perfectly and you can't account for it, I certainly wasn't expecting that."

The series now moves to The Oval for the third Test on 18 August and Swann added: "It turned last year in the Ashes, but whatever wicket we play on we have got a very flexible attack at the moment, that is one of our strengths."

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