ANDREW Strauss continued his rich run of form with an unbeaten 117 yesterday.

The captain’s innings helped England to an eight-wicket victory in their second tour match, against the Warriors at the De Beers Diamond Oval.

Strauss was composed throughout his 119-ball innings.

He dominated the home side’s bowling as he and Joe Denly laid a firm platform – in pursuit of the 255 victory target – with an impressive 175 opening stand.

They eventually cruised home with 9.1 overs to spare as the earlier efforts of 83 not out from Arno Jacobs and Davey Jacobs (50) proved in vain.

The victory will be pleasing for coach Andy Flower.

But there will still be concern over the bowling, with only Graeme Swann (three for 26) really shining in Kimberley.

But Flower will have no worries over his batsmen, who again showed good form to go with the 185-run opening win in Bloemfontein on Friday.

Denly hailed the effect of Strauss on his own batting form.

The Kent batsman hit 82 after scoring only two in Bloemfontein.

It was welcome time in the middle for Denly – whose last half-century for his country came during the NatWest Series against Australia – on the back of a poor Champions Trophy campaign.

‘‘It was brilliant to get ourselves off to a good start like that and the more I bat with Straussy the more I enjoy it,’’ he said. ‘‘He is great to bat with and he is a very experienced player.

‘‘He is in great touch and that makes life easier for me when he is batting that well.

I think the right and lefthand combination works well at the top too.’’ Competition for batting places is intense, with Jonathan Trott staking his claim in the opening game by making 85, while Test opener Alastair Cook has been included in the one-day set-up.

The return of Kevin Pietersen this week will also raise the stakes, but Denly was just pleased to get back among the runs.

He continued: ‘‘It was nice to spend some time in the middle.

“It is important to get some runs under your belt before the international games start and just have as much time out there as you can.’’ Denly, whose 85-ball innings included seven fours and two sixes, also revealed that batting in Kimberley was not as easy as it looked.

He added: ‘‘It was quite tricky to begin with because the pitch is a bit slow and they were bowling cutters, which were hard to get away.”