Andrew Strauss Profile by CricketArchive

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Player:

AJ Strauss

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DateLine: 20th February 2007

 

The consistent run of scores by Andrew Strauss ever since he made his sensational Test debut against New Zealand at Lords in 2004 brings back memories of Graham Thorpe. A left handed opening batsman Strauss success story has been one of the reasons behind Englands successes in the last couple of years. Ten centuries in 31 Tests, more than 2500 runs at an average of 46, a penchant for the big occasion, an equitable temperament and batsmanship not affected by the added responsibilities of captaincy suddenly and unexpectedly thrust upon him all combine to bring out the adaptability of the quintessential team man. But then such qualities can only be expected from a batsman who in May 2004 wrote his name into the record books when he became only the fourth batsman to score a century at Lords on his Test debut. The Johannesburg-born Strauss made his ODI debut in 2003-04 before his epic feat in the summer. He also got a century at Lords in his first game as captain two years later. He was Englands outstanding batsman in South Africa in 2004-05 winning the first Test at Port Elizabeth with scores of 126 and 94 not out and then adding two further hundreds on his way a tally of 656 runs in the series. Continuing his phenomenal run he got two more centuries in the victorious Ashes series in 2005 and another hundred in Englands victory over India at Mumbai in 2005-06 before becoming Englands captain by default in 2006 when both Michael Vaughan and Andrew Flintoff were ruled out with injuries. He is also an indispensable member of the ODI squad as a strike rate of almost 80 indicates.He started with a traumatic 5-0 whitewash against Sri Lanka in the one-day series, but another Test hundred at Lord's helped settle him into the role. Flintoff's absence handed him the captaincy for the subsequent Test series against Pakistan too, which England won 3-0, Strauss notching his second hundred as captain in the third Test. But, the following winter in Australia - overlooked as leader in favour of Flintoff - he suffered his first prolonged loss of form, managing a total of two fifties in 20 innings on tour. That led to him being dropped at the start of the World Cup before he eventually regained his place in a struggling top order. But it had been a rapid fall from grace since being captain eight months earlier and, after a poor summer, he was dropped for England's tour of Sri Lanka in December.The return, though, was equally swift as he was recalled for the New Zealand trip early in 2008 despite having no chance to show his form. With two forties in the first couple of Tests, falling to horribly weak strokes, his England future was in serious jeopardy going into the final Test in Napier, but he responded with a gritty and emotional 177 to seal his spot for the 2008 summer. When the teams reconvened in England, it was business as usual as Strauss produced a Man-of-the-Series performance to set up a 2-0 win.