ContinueAndrew Strauss has announced he is retiring from all forms of cricket. Alastair Cook is taking over as captain of the England Test cricket team.
Strauss won 48% of the Test matches in which he was captain. In all, Strauss represented his country 100 times in Test cricket, and was captain for 50 of those games. He made his Test debut at Lord's in 2004, where he made a century against New Zealand. In all, he scored 7,037 runs at an average of 40.91.
The highlights as captain for Strauss are undoubtedly leading the side to number one in the world, having beaten India 4-0 last Summer. He was invovled in three Ashes winning sides, as a player in 2005, and twice as captain in 2009 and 2010/11. To win the Ashes is one thing, but to retain the Urn in Australia is a feat that only a few before Strauss have managed to do.
Strauss cited his form with the bat as a key factor in retiring from the game and stressed this was not an overnight decision. He had managed to score back-to-back hundreds against the West Indies earlier in the Summer, however it had been widely documented that he had struggled with the bat in the last couple of years.
A lot of speculation has centred on whether the Kevin Pietersen episode has lead to Strauss stepping down, however he made it clear that it was a decision made on his own terms and had not been affected by the problems that had arisen over the last few weeks.
Alastair Cook, who has already lead the England One Day International team to the top of the world rankings, takes over at the helm and his first task will be leading the side to India for a very tough Test series. With there appearing to be no end to the Kevin Pietersen soap opera, it looks as though Cook will be heading there with a new opening partner and an inexperienced middle order.
