England captain Andrew Strauss, who oversaw back-to-back Ashes wins over Australia and took England to the top of the test rankings, announced his retirement from professional cricket on Wednesday, says a report in Indian Express, adding that Strauss, who had been in charge since 2009, will be replaced by one-day skipper Alastair Cook – Strauss had taken over after Indian-origin skipper Nasser Husain had chivalrously retired. <\/p>\n
\u201cAfter 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, the 35-year-old told a news conference. 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,\u201d said Strauss. <\/p>\n
Strauss’s decision was the climax of a difficult few weeks for the batsman during which England lost their number one Test ranking to South Africa following a 2-0 series defeat to the Proteas. <\/p>\n
Meanwhile The Times Of India <\/strong>reports that Andrew Strauss, who captained England for 50 Tests, will not be leading the Englishmen on their tour of India in November and December, adding that the left-handed batsman announced his retirement from professional cricket on Wednesday, handing the baton to fellow opener Alastair Cook.<\/p>\n Strauss disclosed it was a tough decision, but that in the end it was his poor form with the bat that persuaded him. “For a captain to perform his role properly,” said Strauss at a packed press conference at Lord’s. \u201cIt is important you are firstly not a passenger in the side, but also that people are not speculating as to if you should be in the side. I know with my motivation and energy levels I was not going to improve batting-wise. I’d run my race.” He continued: “I would very much like to go out on my own terms, with my head held high.”<\/p>\n According to a report in The Hindu, <\/strong>Strauss was adamant that the controversy did not have any impact on his decision to quit. \u201cI\u2019ve been thinking about it for a while. I first spoke to (England coach) Andy (Flower) about it before the Pietersen incident reared its head. It hasn\u2019t been a consideration at all,\u201d said Strauss, who captained England in 50 Tests, winning 24. <\/p>\n England lost the series 2-0 and with it its No. 1 ranking to the South Africans. The final Test was Strauss\u2019s 100th, but the left-hander, who made 21 Test centuries during his career, did not enjoy a successful series, averaging only 17.83 runs with a highest of 37.<\/p>\n By Indian Sports News Network<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" England captain Andrew Strauss, who oversaw back-to-back Ashes wins over Australia and took England to the top of the test rankings, announced his retirement from professional cricket on Wednesday, says a report in Indian Express, adding that Strauss, who had been in charge since 2009, will be replaced by one-day skipper Alastair Cook – Strauss […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[52],"tags":[1214,2725,6293,6295],"class_list":["post-9564","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-from-the-newspapers","tag-alastair-cook","tag-andrew-strauss","tag-indian-sports-news-network","tag-naseer-hussain"],"yoast_head":"\n
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