Andrew Strauss calls it a day, Alastair Cook to captain England Test team

England Test captain Andrew Strauss made his fans sad, when deciding to take retirement from professional cricket at Lord’s on Wednesday. The classy left-hander, one of England’s most successful skippers ever, ended a 10-year international career, for the
last three of which he was England’s Test captain.

Strauss announced his decision after a week of family break following the 2-0 loss at the hands of South Africa. The conflict with Kevin Pietersen was another highlight of Strauss’ last few days at the international level. He, however, dismissed the notion
that Pietersen’s issue was a factor in his decision.

Strauss led England to two consecutive Ashes wins. It was his captaincy that helped England became World’s No.1 Test side. He had already quit one-day captaincy following England’s terrible loss in the ICC World Cup 2011.

"After much thought over the last few weeks, I have decided to step down as England Test captain and announce my retirement from all forms of cricket. It has clearly been a tough decision to make, but I believe that it is both in the best interests of the
England cricket team and myself to step down at this stage,” Strauss said.

He added, "There are too many people who have helped me on this incredible journey to mention them all by name, but I would like to thank all the Middlesex and England players I have played alongside, as well as the phenomenal coaches and support staff with
whom I have been fortunate enough to work.”

"Particular mention has to go to Andy Flower and Duncan Fletcher in that regard. It would also be remiss of me not to thank Middlesex, the ECB and the PCA for their support and guidance over the years.”

"No one can play international cricket for any length of time without having an incredibly strong support network around them, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank my family for going through it all alongside me over the course of my England
career.

"I am extremely proud of everything I have achieved as a cricketer, and I have found myself very fortunate to play in an era when some of English cricket’s greatest moments have occurred. I have loved every minute of it. All that remains is for me to wish
Andy, Alastair and the rest of the team the very best for the coming months. I will be an interested spectator."

The 35-year-old represented his country in 100 Test matches, scoring over-7000 runs at an average of 40.91. The South Africa-born also hit 21 tons and 27 half-centuries. His ODI stats are equally impressive, as he scored 4205 runs in 127 games. Strauss played
only four Twenty20 matches during his international career. After Strauss’ retirement, Alastair Cook, who is currently leading the ODI side, has been appointed as Test captain.

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Posted by Rana Nasir Ghafoor on Aug 29 2012. Filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry