When the ECB announced a press conference, it looked as if Andrew Strauss would probably be resigning as England captain, to hand on the reins to Alastair Cook. So far, so predictable. What I DIDN'T foresee was that Strauss would be retiring from ALL forms of cricket!
Maybe like politicians who have tasted life at the very top, Andrew Strauss felt he wouldn't be happy returning to life on the cricketing 'backbenches', opening for Middlesex in the domestic game for maybe a few more years and living off fond memories of the time he led England to the world summit in Test cricket, via back-to-back Ashes triumphs and a 4-0 drubbing of the former top dogs, India.
Modern cricket is undoubtedly a different world these days. Tests, ODIs and T20s are played all year round, with little respite for the best players. Strauss was already winding down by withdrawing from the national side in one-day competitions so perhaps this final drawing down the curtain on a 15-year career was not such a difficult decision.
I hope it wasn't the result of England's slipping from the very top of the ICC rankings in the past few weeks, nor from the Pietersen affair, which prompted the decision. He has fully justified the faith of Andy Flower and the ECB in being a successful choice of captain. His leadership on the pitch wasn't always as notable as in the dressing room or in front of the TV cameras but he leaves with dignity from a job well done for England: 100 Tests over ten years, half of them as captain since 2009 (after KP again screwed up the dressing room), more than 11,000 runs and 21 Test centuries, just behind the national record.
He didn't have a spectacular career for Middlesex before he got the nod to stand in for Michael Vaughan against New Zealand in May 2004. However, on his home ground of Lord's, the gods were clearly looking kindly on him because he scored a debut century, 112, followed for good measure with a second innings 83, winning the Man of the Match award. His first ODI outing, against Sri Lanka six months earlier, had been somewhat less memorable, contributing just three runs in a thumping defeat.
I recall being at Lord's two months after that NZ debut, this time in action against Lara's West Indies. He made three figures again, sharing a 291-run partnership with Robert Key, who top-scored with 221. Boundaries flowed like the mountain stream that day, twenty from the Middlesex man and it is interesting that Strauss has gone to bigger and better things whereas the Kent batsman has not.
There will be many cricketing obituaries written about Strauss and, while I'm never a fan of people being promoted because of their Middlesex connections or the size of their jaw - once seemingly a pre-requisite of the job of England captain in all sports! - I advocated his promotion after the KP/Moores fall-out, and reckon he was one of the most successful skippers in England history. I never expected England to do so well, mind you, and that may have more to do with Andy Flower and the availability of an excellent squad, especially bowlers, as in the Vaughan/Fletcher era. OK, so 2012 had more downs than ups but the standards set were very high.
Good luck to Cook and I hope the extra responsibilities don't affect his batting. I suspect they won't. Whatever England do in the coming years, Andrew Strauss can look on with pride and knowing he helped shape one of the best teams we have ever had.
