 In 1677 he was promoted to rear-admiral and served as John Narbrough's third-in-command; on 1 April 1678, with Narbrough's successor Admiral Herbert, he captured a 40-gun Algerian cruiser.Suspected (rightly) of being a crypto-Catholic, Strickland found his career stagnating during the later years of Charles II’s reign, and spent a period ashore in England, during which he was elected MP for Aldborough.However, he received immediate advancement on the accession of James II and returned to sea, being promoted first to vice-admiral and then to Admiral of the Blue.