Andrew Strauss.Photo credit: Joe Giddens/EMPICS

Alastair Cook new England captain

Andrew Strauss has today [Wednesday] resigned as captain of England in the Test arena and has retired from professional cricket.

The opening batsman played 100 Tests and led his country in 50 of them, guiding them to two Ashes victories and to the top of the Test rankings.

One-day captain Alastair Cook is taking over from Strauss and will lead his country in the four-Test series against India in November.

“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,” he said in a statement.

“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.

“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.”

ECB chief executive David Collier paid tribute to the departing captain, who won 24 of the 50 games he had in charge.

“On behalf of the ECB and everyone involved in cricket I’d like to thank Andrew Strauss for his outstanding contribution to the game,” he said.

“Andrew has been a highly successful captain and opening batsman for Middlesex and England who will be remembered for leading the side to two Ashes victories and to the top of the test rankings. He has shown tremendous integrity, dedication and commitment both on and off the field and under his leadership the side has grown immeasurably and reached new levels of professionalism.

“Andrew’s calmness and authority when dealing with some of the most difficult moments in our sport in recent times should be applauded and I have no doubt that his contribution as an ambassador for the game will be recognised by anyone who has had an opportunity to spend time with him. His legacy within the game will be felt for many years to come and we now need to continue to build on the progress we have made under his leadership.

“I would like to congratulate Alastair on becoming Test captain. He has shown he has the traits needed to be a successful captain and has demonstrated his leadership capabilities as one day captain over the last 16 months. On behalf of the ECB I would like to wish Alastair and Andy Flower all the very best for the exciting challenges that lie ahead.”

Successor, Cook hailed Strauss and looked forward to his new challenge.

He said: “Andrew’s contribution to England cricket in recent years is evident to everyone who follows the sport but only those of us who have been lucky enough to share a dressing room with him are fully aware of his immense contribution to our success. He has been a fantastic captain, has led from the front for three and a half years and is a true ambassador for the game. To have played 100 Tests for your country is a phenomenal achievement and I want to congratulate him on a superb career. I know this can’t have been an easy decision for him and everyone in the dressing room will be sad to see him go.

“I’m very excited by this new challenge, it is a huge honour to be appointed Test captain and am very much looking forward to captaining the side in India this winter and beyond but my immediate focus is on this current NatWest one day series. Once the series is over I will turn my attention to the Test captaincy and building on the work Andrew has started.”