Andrew Strauss has been called a lot of things by a lot of people but his parting press conference before the Ashes was surely the first time he has been sledged by a member of the English pack. "The Australians always target the captain, not just the players but the crowd and the media," said the journalist, searching for the right words as he spoke. "You might be the 'posh public schoolboy', that might be your tag. How do you respond to that?" Strauss stifled a smile. "Well," he said, deadpan, "I'm not going to deny anything."

Strauss is used to it by now. Before he became England captain he was always something of a figure of fun. He has had a host of unflattering nicknames in his time – in the Middlesex dressing room he used to be known as Muppet and, when he was first called up to play for England, Marcus Trescothick christened him Lord Brocket because of his supposed resemblance to the buffoonish playboy who once appeared on I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! Nowadays he goes by the more respectful tag of Straussy. The bumbling young batsman has grown into a successful captain. He has shrugged off the floppy, foppish air and honed a tough streak that has served his side well since he became the leader. His batting average as captain is 47.34 but it falls to 43.11 when he is in the rank and file.

Strauss's reputation is solid. In the next six months it could become spectacular. He has the opportunity to earn himself a place in the pantheon of the great English captains. If Strauss led England to a series victory this winter, after 20 barren years of tours to Australia, it would be a feat that would be cherished alongside the Ashes win in 2005. Now, just as in that summer, the English appetite for success is especially sharp because there have been so many painful and fruitless years. And 15 days after the one-day team play their final fixture in Australia, they play their first match in the 2011 World Cup.

"We are all aware of the opportunities that are there this winter, not just with the Ashes but with the World Cup as well," Strauss says. "Potentially this could be one of the greatest winters ever for English cricket." Being the realist he is, he pulled himself back from such tantalising thoughts just in time, "but that is a long way off and to start dreaming or thinking about it at this stage is unhelpful".

Very few of the people who played with Strauss in the first few years of his career saw his success coming. Back in 1999 and 2000 he was playing Sydney grade cricket in Australia for Mosman. "He was a good player," his old club captain, Martin Haywood, recalls, "but we never expected him to go on to be an England captain or anything like that."

Similarly his old Middlesex mucker David Nash mainly remembers mocking the young Strauss for his posh accent and his middle-aged dress sense. One nickname Strauss never had to deal with was the one they gave to Mike Atherton, FEC, the polite translation of which is "future England captain". Even the England selectors passed Strauss over twice, in favour of Andrew Flintoff in September 2006 and Kevin Pietersen in August 2008.

The time he spent at Mosman was the start of an education in the Australian approach to cricket that turned Strauss into the steely player he is today. He learned a lot about how hard you need to be to succeed from Justin Langer at Middlesex and just as much from the5-0 thrashing Flintoff's team took in 2006-07. That winter the Australians picked apart Strauss's technique and that, together with the lingering despondency he felt at being overlooked for the captaincy, meant his career was derailed. Tested and found wanting, he has come back a stronger person and a better player. Since he took the captaincy over for good in 2009 he has looked a natural fit.

He goes into this series with the rare luxury of knowing that his opposite number in the Australian team is under much more pressure that he is. "I don't see it as a battle between me and Ricky particularly," Strauss says, "but how we go about our business is going to have a big effect on the rest of the team. They have lost a few games recently so they will have question marks that will be preoccupying them."

While the Australians have been resorting to pre-series cheap shots and publicity stunts, Strauss has had a hard-nosed indifference to the hype. His manner speaks of a quiet conviction in his own abilities and those of his team. In short he is a man who looks at ease with himself, whatever names they call him.