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Kevin Pietersen signs new central contract

His short term deal expires at the end of January before moving onto a full contract in February

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Kevin Pietersen scoring 186 in Mumbai. His reintegration into the team is complete

It’s the news that all English cricket fans wanted to hear, Kevin Pietersen’s “reintegration” into the English cricket set up has been completed and he has signed a new central contract up until the end of September and is available to play for England in all formats of the game again.

This news will further please new ODI coach Ashley Giles who can call upon Pietersen for September’s Champions trophy, a competition in which KP was set to miss after announcing his limited overs retirement last year.

Giles himself was part of the selection committee that decided to drop Pietersen ahead of the 3rd Test vs South Africa in the summer as well as the World T20 tournament in Sri Lanka. Controversy surrounded the decision to drop Pietersen, with it thought the exchanging of “provocative text messages” between Pietersen and several members of the South African squad being the main reasoning behind his omission from the squad.

This severely tarnished the relationship between the ECB and Pietersen, as well as the relationship between KP and the squad after “twittergate” and it was questioned whether Pietersen would ever be seen in an England shirt again. However, in November it became clear that an agreement had taken place and KP was to be reintegrated within the squad. This integration clearly was successful and Pietersen helped lead England to an historic Test series victory in India scoring 338 runs at an average of 48.28.

A short term deal was signed by Pietersen during his time in India, before Ashley Giles announced this week that Kevin Pietersen had signed a full central contract until the end of September.

Giles however did stipulate that all players and staff have to abide by the team ethics and anybody who fails to do so wouldn’t be part of the set-up. He stated: “We are all different but I will have the same principles as Andy and if I think someone is out of line in the team I will tell them because the group comes first,” he said. “The stuff with KP is history, it got out of hand, now he is back on board and playing as well as ever by the look of it. It is great for me to have him … I am looking forward to working with him on a different level.”

 

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India v England preview- 1st Test

Trial by spin: will England be found guilty of previous crimes against spin, or walk away with a victory not seen for 27 years?

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India v England preview 

India return to home soil this month to avenge the humiliation of last summer’s 4-0 defeat to England. Conditions will be somewhat different to those they encountered in England 16 months ago however, with England most certainly having to face a lengthy trial by spin.

 

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England fans will be relieved KP is back in the side

The record books aren’t great reading if you’re an England fan and juicy odds of 5-1 for England to win the series from the bookies seem to suggest that England’s chances are limited. Despite struggling overseas, India have lost just one home series out of 16 in the past 10 years. To add to this, England haven’t won a Test series in India for 27 years, when David Gower lead England to a series win in 1985.

To win in India, England will have to overcome their prevailing problems against spin bowling. For a long time now England have proved vulnerable against spin in all formats of the game. The recent T20 World Cup echoes this sentiment, especially in games against the sub-continent teams. Looking back to the start of the year and the Test series in the UAE against Pakistan was lost as England severely struggled against the mystery spin of Saeed Ajmal. Only Bangladesh and Zimbabwe have worse batting records against spin than England in the sub-continent since 2001 with England averaging 25.54 per wicket compared to India’s 42.01.

England are confident though, and Graeme Swann has already stated that India’s slow-bowling attack doesn’t possess the mystery (like Pakistan and Sri Lanka have) to exploit England’s recent struggles with spin on the subcontinent. They will have to face a lot of it though, with Ashwin, Ojha and Harbhajan Singh all likely to be used by Indian captain MS Dhoni at some point in the series. Ashwin and Ojha have 105 wickets between them in just 17 home tests, and Harbhajan is one of the few bowlers currently still playing with 400 Test wickets to his name.

If England can overcome their frailty against spin there’s no reason as to why they can’t win the series. The Indian middle order isn’t the force of years gone by since Dravid and Laxman have retired, and Tendulkar has now gone 25 Test innings without a hundred leaving him on the verge of bowing out of the game. England’s attack is potent on its day with the raw pace in Finn, accuracy and swing in Anderson and Broad and the ever-reliable Graeme Swann very much suited to bowling on these Indian pitches.

There’s no doubt the England batsman will have worked hard to address the problems they’ve had in the past against spin and they go into the series with a degree of form behind them. Cook, Pietersen, Trott, Patel and Bairstow all hit centuries in the warm-up matches whilst potential debutant Nick Compton ground out three 50’s to try and cement his spot in the side. Admittedly the bowling attacks on display were of a poor first class level and didn’t possess any real threats in the spin bowling department- a ploy likely to have been devised by MS Dhoni and his team.

England want their number 1 Test spot back, a tough ask considering they’d have to win the series 3-0 and hope Australia beat South Africa, but not impossible. It will be a fascinating series pitting two of the best teams on the globe, both with a point to prove to each other and the on-looking World.

To follow the scores and discuss the match with fellow fans, click here on a computer or download the iPhone or Android app.

 

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PlayUp’s Top 5 Sporting Comebacks

Europe’s stunning Ryder Cup victory is one of the greatest sporting comebacks of all time. Here are five others that we didn't have an in-play bet on

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Nothing brightens a wet Monday morning than reflection on an inspired weekend display of grit and determination to shatter the odds and bring back a victory from the brink of despair. The European Ryder Cup heros certainly did that for us today.

Here are PlayUp’s five favourite comebacks over the decades.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer celebrates his late winner in the 1999 Champions League final

 

Manchester United’s 1999 European Cup Final

Manchester United shocked the football world when they won the 1999 Champions League final in Barcelona by scoring two injury time goals. Mario Basler gave Bayern Munich a 1-0 lead and Ferguson’s men looked all but beaten as the fourth official signalled 3 minutes of injury time. But Manchester United wouldn’t be Manchester United if they didn’t fight to the bitter end.

With rime running out the ball fell to Teddy Sheringham eight yards out and he spun it in to send the fixture into extra time. Or so everybody thought. Another fast paced United attack won them a corner for Beckham to swing in. Sheringham flicked it on to find Solksjaer at the back post who toed the ball into the roof of the net. The Munich players were left shell-shocked with many of them in tears. With just three minutes left on the clock they thought they’d won it.

Red Rum’s 1973 Grand National win

One of the greatest horse races ever witnessed the start fo the legend of Red Run. Aintree, March 31st 1973 and odds-on favourite the Crisp led the Grand National field. When his chaser, Grey Sombrero (who was six lengths behind), fell at the Chair it looked like it was all over with the rest of the pack 20 lengths behind and just two fences to go.

Red Rum was still the best part of 30 lengths behind but after jumping the second last, Crisp began slow up. Red Rum ate away at the lead and eventually got up with two strides left of the race and grabbed his first and the most dramatic of his Three Grand National victories.

 

Liverpool v AC Milan 2005 Champions League final

After over-turning the likes of Juventus and Chelsea to reach the 2005 Champions League final in Istanbul, Liverpool were rudely awoken inside the first minute when Paolo Maldini turned in Andrea Pirlo’s free-kick. Two Hernan Crespo strikes in the last six minutes of the opening period meant Milan went in 3-0 up at half time.

Liverpool heads were hanging in disbelief at their predicament but Benitez’s men made one of the most inspiring turnarounds of a generation. Coming out after the break, man of the match Steven Gerrard took the game by the scruff of the neck and scored a header after 53 minutes.  Less than a minute later Vladimir Smicer shot tamely from 25 yards but amazingly Dida failed to keep it out and the Liverpool fans could sense an upset. They were right and on the hour mark Gennaro Gattuso pulled down Gerrard in the area for Xabi Alonso to score the resulting penalty to take it into extra time. Milan bossed possession for the final 30 minutes and were denied a sure winner thanks to a miracle double save by Jerzy Dudek with three minutes remaining.

Into the penalty shootout and Liverpool found themselves 3-2 ahead with one round to go. Shevchenko’s kick was saved by the infamously jelly legged Dudek to spark wild scenes of celebration for the Merseysiders.

Dennis Taylor’s 1985 World Snooker title

The decider for the 1985 World Snooker title was a game of epic proportions. Firm favourite Steve Davis began the match in devastating fashion and led 7-0. Dennis Taylor soon trailed 9-1 but was not going to go down without a fight when he began to rally, winning six on the bounce to bring it back to 9-7. The following day had both players exchanging frames in a fantastic battle of composure.

Davis was mystified when Taylor came back from 17-15 down to yet again level at 17-17 with the match to be decided in the final frame. Taylor took the early lead, but Davis led going into the colours. Davis was 18 points ahead with just 22 available but Taylor’s ‘never say never’ attitude saw him clean up and take the victory.

England’s 1981 3rd Test win against Australia

Around the time of the 1981 Ashes test, things were not looking good for the England Cricket team. Australia were favourites to win and going into the third test they were 1-0 down in the series. Ian Botham had also just resigned as captain and started the match poorly with Australia declaring at 401/9.

The hosts were asked to follow on after they were bowled out for just 174 runs and following on, finished the day 221 runs behind. Misery continued the next day when England were reduced to 105/5 but as Ian “Beefy” Botham walked out on to the Headingly pitch, he knew it was his time to shine. As his partners fell, England were 135/7 and it was looking grim. However, Botham was at hand to produce one of cricket’s best ever innings to give England a lead of 124 runs. Australia’s reply was feeble and they buckled under the pressure. Botham took the first wicket and Bob Willis killed them off with figures of 8-43 as England won by 18 runs.

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England have to change their tactics against spin!

After the defeat to India England must reassess the way they play against spin

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The embarrassing defeat to India on Sunday was made even more disconcerting during Stuart Broad’s post-match interview where he claimed England don’t have a problem against spin. His answers come across as extremely scripted, which is down to him being young, immature as a captain and following rules that he’d been taught in his countless media-training sessions.  The reality is England do have a serious problem against spin bowling, especially with this in-experienced squad and in a form of cricket where you can’t just sit there and wait for the bad ball.

In seven overs bowled by the two Indian spinners, Singh and Chawla, England lost 6 wickets, scored 21 runs and ruined any chance they had of winning the match. At one point Dhoni’s field for Singh included two slips and two catchers around the bat, somewhat mocking England’s inability to score runs against the spin. To make matters worse India’s best spinner, according to World rankings is Ravi Ashwin and he wasn’t even playing!

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Buttler gives himself room to cut a ball from Singh

 

This demise against spin wasn’t a one off anomaly. You only have to look back at recent series in all 3 forms of the game to realise England have struggled against spin for an extended period of time- especially in sub continental conditions. Spinners, Jadeja and Ashwin dominated the wickets leaderboard in a humiliating 5-0 ODI defeat in India, with Ajmal and Rehman doing the same in the 3-0 whitewash by Pakistan in the UAE Test series.  Despite winning the ODI series against Pakistan, England continued to struggle against Ajmal, who finished second behind Steven Finn in total wickets for the series.

Where do England go from here though? How do they improve against spin? You only have to look back at footage from the Indian game to get some answers to these questions. None of the England batsman used their feet and/or tried to hit straight back down the ground. Morgan and Buttler were both bowled trying to cut balls that could have easily been played back past the bowler. Bairstow and Bresnan played horrible swipes across the line leading to their downfall while Kieswetter flashed at a ball that wasn’t full enough to drive, offering an easy catch to first slip. England’s obsession with cross-bat shots against spin needs to be reassessed. Dominating spin can occur by picking up 1s and 2s by playing basic straight-batted shots down the ground. It seems England currently prefer playing a lower percentage swipe shot trying to hit 6’s over midwicket or reverse sweeps.

Ultimately the choice to play these shots falls down to the batsman and the blame will lie on their shoulders. Should this be the case though? Andy Flower, Stuart Broad and the ECB were the one’s who picked this in-experienced batting line-up who have no, or limited experience playing in the sub-continent. The ECB are the one’s who have frowned upon England’s players playing in the IPL, as well as being the one’s who docked points in a DRAWN match between Hampshire and Nottinghamshire for “excessive spin”. We could talk about the Kevin Pietersen debate, the way the England players are coached to play spin by Andy Flower or the lack of quality spinners in the English game to challenge the batsmen as well. England’s tactics must change against spin if they’re to succeed in Sri Lanka, whether they’ll go against the innovative grain and go back to basics though will remain to be seen.

 

 

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10 Things You Need To Know About Afghan Cricket

They may play their home games in Dubai and have only 3 travelling supporters in Sri Lanka, but they are endorsed by the Taliban, and the ICC

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1)   The earliest record of cricket being played in Afghanistan is of British troops playing a match in Kabul in 1839

2)   It began to really gain popularity in refugee camps during the Soviet occupation of 1979-89, where cricket was played using shoes for stumps and balls made out of torn-up shirts.

3)   Nowadays there are 320 cricket clubs and 6 turf wickets in Afghanistan

4)   Like all sports, cricket was originally banned by the Taliban regime, but cricket became an exception in 2000 (being the only sport in Afghanistan to be approved by the Taliban)

5)   All but 1 of the Afghanistan squad were born in Afghanistan

6)   Only three Afghan fans have arrived in Sri Lanka to support their team at the T20 World Cup

7)   Construction began in 2011 on the Kabul National Cricket Stadium, the Kandahar International Cricket Stadium, the Sherzai Stadium and the Ghazi Amanullah Khan International Cricket Stadiums creating hundreds of jobs for the Afghan people across the country.

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The Sherzai Cricket Stadium under construction

8)   According to the Afghanistan captain Nawroz Mangal, qualification for the 2010 World Twenty20 led to 70,000 new Afghans taking up the sport and “Right now more than 500,000 people are playing cricket in the country”

9)   Afghanistan’s domestic structure consists of a 25-over Inter-Provincial Tournament, which has the participation of 22 provinces in the tournament. Their National squads are then selected from this tournament.

10) Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium in the UAE is the current home ground of the Afghanistan National Team due to not be allowed to play official ICC games in Afghanistan

Afghanistan T20 Records

Highest team total: 174-8 v Canada 18 March 2012 at ICC Global Cricket Academy Ground, Dubai

Highest individual score: 77 by Mohammad Shahzad v Ireland, 24 March 2012 at Dubai Sports City Stadium

Most runs in career: 199 by Noor Ali Zadran

Best innings bowling: 3-17 by Karim Sadiq v Ireland, 9 February 2010 at Dubai Sports City Stadium

Most wickets in career: 14 by Hamid Hassan

 

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Forget Pietersen, England Have No fear

England aren't favourites to win the T20 World Cup, but they weren't last time. We assess their chances of retaining their World title

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England’s 2012 World Cup T20 Chances assessed

Vital Statistics

Coach: Andy Flower

Captain: Stuart Broad

Current Twenty20 World Ranking: 1st

2010 T20 World Cup position: Winners

Odds: 10/1 (Betfair)

Squad: Jonny Bairstow (wk), Ravi Bopara, Tim Bresnan, Danny Briggs, Stuart Broad (capt), Jos Buttler, Jade Dernbach, Steven Finn, Alex Hales, Craig Kieswetter (wk), Michael Lumb, Eoin Morgan, Samit Patel, Graeme Swann, Luke Wright.

 

In 2010 the England squad arrived in the Caribbean with the humility of a loss in the previous years tournament to the Netherlands. There were many a raised eye-brow over the squad the selectors had picked and the talk was of when they’d be knocked out rather than if.

As all underdogs love to do, they proved the country wrong and won England’s first major tournament on the International stage. There are parallels between 2010 and 2012, and despite being holders of the competition and being the Number 1 ranked T20 team in the World, England will be seen by many as unlikely winners. Why?

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England are defending champions and World Number 1

First, England’s record in the sub-continent is not great. Adapting to the conditions is key and in the past England have failed to acclimatise quickly enough.

Second, Kevin Pietersen’s endlessly debated absence from the squad will obviously be a huge loss to the batting lineup. He can be England’s most destructive batsman and puts fear into many a bowler. Plus his 2012 IPL on similar surfaces to those in Sri Lanka and his player of the tournament award at the last T20 World Cup, leaves no doubt that he would be a force.

But, and this is the key point, no player is bigger than the team. With obvious tension between Pietersen and the rest of the team on public display, KP on his top form does not score higher than a united squad giving blood and guts for each other.

The burden of filling Pietersen’s big shoes will likely fall to Eoin Morgan. Batting in the sub-continent isn’t easy in the middle-order. Spin will likely to dominate the overs outside of the powerplay. Morgan has dictated against the spinners in recent years and has been a key figure in England’s rise to the top of the rankings in limited overs cricket. With a wide range of shots at his disposal, Morgan will need to come out all guns blazing if England are to succeed.

Morgan will  be backed up by a swarm of younger, in-experienced players. Like 2010, many of the players only have experience in the domestic T20 scene rather on the International stage. Kieswetter and Lumb enjoyed success against the new ball in the West Indies, and in Sri Lanka the new boys in Bairstow, Buttler and Hales have a great opportunity to showcase their talents on the World stage. Buttler in particular looks to have all the shots in the book. His skills  manipulating spin bowling will be of greatest value to the team.

A key ingredient of the victory in the West Indies was the variations and tactics used by the England squad throughout the tournament. It will need to be the same again. Dernbach’s slower balls, Swann mixing up the pace of his deliveries and Broad adapting to situations with his captaincy, will be vital.

Defending their World crown in Sri Lanka was never going to be easy. But what England lack in experience they make up for in self-belief and a no fear attitude. Like Collingwood did in 2010, Broad will have to lead and dominate in his first real test as captain.

There’s definitely talent within the unit but surely anything further than the Super 8’s will be just an added bonus? They said that in 2010 and look what happened there!

 

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ICC World Cup T20 Preview

Hard hats at the ready the big hitters are in gathered in Sri Lanka! We preview each team's chances in Sri Lanka

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This will be the first T20 World Cup held in the sub-continent and teams will have to adapt their games accordingly if they’re to stand a chance of winning. Hard hats at the ready and bring on the fun! We’ve assessed all 12 teams competing for the chance to be crowned World T20 Champions and given you a run-down on how we think they will go in Sri Lanka.

 

Group A

 

England – Lack of experience in the England camp could hinder the current holders progress in the competition. Kevin Pietersen being omitted from the squad is a big miss, especially after his exceptional IPL of 2012 on similar sub-continent pitches. What they lack in experience, they make up for in self-belief and raw talent. England could be a surprise package, but their batting line-up is vulnerable without Pietersen.

Player to Watch: Jos Buttler – Very exciting youngster who hits a long ball and is exceptional at manipulating fields against the spinners

PlayUp’s prediction: Knocked out in Super 8’s

Best Bet: Jos Buttler 12-1 to be England’s Top run scorer (Ladbrokes)

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India: Pre tournament favourites India have the power at the top of the order to put a game out of sight before you even know it. Used to the sub-continent conditions, all-rounders aplenty- they’ll be a tough nut to crack.

Player to Watch: Virender Sehwag – If he gets going in the power play it’ll be top viewing, unless you’re a bowler!

PlayUp’s prediction- Runners Up

Best Bet- Sehwag 21-1 to be top run-scorer in the competition (Betfair)

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Afghanistan: The lowest ranked team in the competition looking to cause an upset in Sri Lanka. Experienced on these pitches, the Afghans will show no fear and a shock could be on the cards.

Player to Watch: Mohammad Shahzad – a wicket-keeper batsman who scored 77 from 57 balls in a World T20 qualifier against Ireland

PlayUp’s prediction: Knocked out in Group Stages

Best Bet: Hamid Hassan 7-2 to be Afghanistan top wicket taker

Group B

Australia: At one point last month Australia slipped to number 10 in the World T20 rankings below Ireland and Bangladesh. Never write off the Australians however, and despite lacking a quality spinner which could thwart them on these sub-continent pitches, they posses a long, destructive batting line-up as well as an exceptionally well-drilled fielding unit.

Player to Watch: Glenn Maxwell – Instrumental in Hampshire’s progress to T20 finals day, a hard-hitting batsman who will bowl some spin too.

PlayUp’s prediction: Knocked out in the Super 8’s

Best Bet: Australia 6/5 to finish runners-up in Group B

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Ireland: A great opportunity to add another Test playing nation to their list of scalps here, the Irish are gritty, determined and are gaining experience from every tournament they compete in.

Player to Watch: Paul Stirling – The Middlesex lad can hit the ball a long way as well as chip in with some usual off-spin

PlayUp’s prediction: Knocked out in the Group Stages

Best Bet: 5-1 to qualify to the Super 8’s if you’re backing an upset (Betfair)

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West indies: Unpredictable? Yes. Talented? Extremely. Could all the years choosing club over country pay off for the West Indians in Sri Lanka? They boast some of the biggest hitters in World cricket and the majority of their big game players have spent time in the IPL. Write them off at your peril.

Player to Watch: Chris Gayle- who else?

PlayUp’s Prediction: Knocked out in the semi- finals

Best Bet: Sunil Narine 14-1 top wicket-taker in the tournament (Betfair)

Group C

Sri Lanka: Although consistent performers on the World T20 stage, this could be a different challenge for a much younger an inexperienced Sri-Lankan team. Lots of solid players in the squad but a lack of firepower in the batting department could be a bit of a problem. The home crowd will back them all the way

Player to Watch: Lasith Malinga – one of the best death bowlers in World Cricket, he could be the difference between Sri Lanka winning and losing games.

PlayUp’s prediction: Knocked out in the Super 8’s

Best Bet: Dilshan 4-1 Top Sri-Lankan Run scorer

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South Africa: Oozing with class with both bat and ball, could this be the time when South African break their duck on the International stage? They’ve got all the key ingredients to win the competition, but can they put them all together? Their one concern would be the lack of a World class spinner within their outfit. Will go far in the tournament for sure.

Player to Watch: Dale Steyn – Dominated the IPL, can destroy top orders and then finish off the tail.

PlayUp’s prediction: Winners

Best Bet: 6-1 to win the competition (Betfair)

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Zimbabwe: Drawn in the hardest group, this will be an extremely tough ask for the Zimbabweans. Alan Butcher will have them well drilled, the standard of fielding will be high and they’ll be extremely keen to beat the host nations and/or their African neighbours. They can also draw on the fact they did beat a weakened South Africa twice in June.

Player to Watch: Brendan Taylor- if they are to cause an upset the wicket-keeper batsman will be the catalyst to do so

PlayUp’s Prediction: Knocked out in the group stages

Best Bet: Ray Price 4-1 to be top Zimbabwean wicket-taker

Group D

Pakistan: The most successful team in World T20 history will be well suited for the conditions out in Sri-Lanka, and again look to have a squad that can compete deep into the tournament. A strong bowling line-up includes 3 World Class spinners and Umar Gul who knows how to finish an innings off. Will be there or there abouts.

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Player to Watch: Shahid Afridi – on his day the most exciting cricketer in the World. A match-winner with both bat and ball.

PlayUp’s prediction: Knocked out in the Semi-finals

Best Bet: Afridi 31-1 Top Wicket Taker in the tournament (Betfair)

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New Zealand: Has the potential to beat the favoured teams in the competition, especially if their aggressive batting line-up hits the right note. Will rely heavily on Vettori and Nathan McCullum’s bowling if they want to progress deep into the tournament. Lacks the squad depth that other teams have.

Player to Watch: Brendan McCullum – has the top score in T20 history and can excite even the stubbornness of MCC members when he goes out to bat!

PlayUp’s prediction: Knocked out in Super 8’s

Best Bet: New Zealand 5/6 for over 16 sixes in the tournament (Ladbrokes)

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Bangladesh: An impressive spin attack on paper needs to perform if Bangladesh are to progress into the tournament. They do have talent within their young squad, but are frustratingly very hit and miss on the World stage.

Player to Watch: On the turning wickets of Sri Lanka, Abdur Razzak will pose a threat to even the best batsman in the competition.

PlayUp’s Prediction: Knocked out in the group stages

Best Bet: Tamin Iqbal 4-1 to be Bangladesh’s top run-scorer (PaddyPower)

 

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Strauss is cooked. And it has nothing to do with KP

Mihir Bose writes that the end of the Strauss era is about timing, not Twitter

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I can well believe that Andrew Strauss did not give up the captaincy because of what Kevin Pietersen tweeted about him to the South Africans. It must not have pleased him, but I think the real reason he gave up was that he realised he could not ensure that England occupied the summit of cricket in the way Australia did for more than a decade.

In other words, this was a managerial decision. Modern sport, particularly cricket, is run very much like a top company. You have a chief executive, which is what Strauss as captain was, and helping him was an executive-style chairman in Andy Flower. They had rescued the company after the 2009 Pietersen fiasco and taken England to No 1 last summer.

But for Strauss, this was just a staging post. In recent months I have interviewed him several times, and last year, just before the season began, I was struck by his vision for England. He wanted England to have a long reign at the top, something he said no English cricket team had ever enjoyed.

Let me recall what he said to me after I spoke to him at the end of last summer when England had hammered India. India, remember, came as World Cup holders and the No 1 Test team, but failed to win a single international. Despite this, Strauss emphasised that England was far from the finished product and he would not hear talk of England as the new Australia. “It would be wrong to talk of us in the same sentence as the Steve Waugh or the early Ricky Ponting sides because we haven’t done it for long enough. We’ve played good cricket for two years, they played good cricket for eight or ten years in all forms of the game.”

Strauss told me that early last summer he had thought of a planned retirement from the game. “At the start of the season, when I stopped playing the one day game, I was trying to think a little bit too much of, well, how far do I want to go? How do I want it to end?  Since then, I’ve just let it go. As long as I’m enjoying the game and playing well and the England team is doing well and it doesn’t feel like the right time has come yet, I’ll keep playing.”

He had given up one day cricket after last year’s World Cup because at 34, he did not see himself going on to the next one four years later. But when we spoke then and on another occasion, it was clear he felt there was a lot of test cricket left in him.  This was not the start of just gradually winding down and he looked ahead to future series, including the back to back Ashes series coming up next year. As he put it, “There’s a hell of a lot of really top quality cricket ahead of us. That’s genuinely exciting and very motivating for me and hopefully I can go on and play a part in all of those series.”

He did say, “If I get to the stage where it just doesn’t feel right any more, then I’ll retire.”

And he has retired, not because of the KP tweets, but because as chief executive of the England team, he could not see himself making sure that England got back to the top and remained at the top. And in the very managerial way Strauss works, this seemed the right time to go and give the company over to his deputy, Alistair Cook, in whom he has much faith.

Follow Mihir on twitter @mihirbose

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5 to Watch: Who will get Strauss’ opening bat?

The England captain leaves a gaping hole opening the innings, as well as at the helm of the side. Will the selectors go for youth or experience?

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Strauss retires on his terms

1. Joe Root

The Yorkshire right-hander is the favourite to get the nod and has been lauded by former England captains and two of the county’s favourite sons, Geoff Boycott and Michael Vaughan. Root’s average of 48.28 in the county championship this season reflects his readiness as well as his potential. His age may count against him though – he is only 21 years-old – and he could be deemed too raw.

 

2. Nick Compton

Denis Compton’s grandson would be a more conservative choice; he is the stand-out pick on form and experience. The 29 year-old averages 97.84 this season, including 4 hundreds and 7 fifties. The Somerset man picked up an injury which kept him out of t20 finals day last weekend.

 

3. Jimmy Adams

Adams has scored over 8,000 first class runs at 38.32 and has been unlucky not to have been given the nod by England. The thirty-one year-old left hander has excelled for Hampshire over the past decade and averages 47.22 this season having been made captain this summer. Although on the fringes of an international call up for some time; his chance may have passed.

 

4. Michael Carberry

The Hampshire left-hander is currently a one-test wonder. He featured against Bangladesh in 2010 with a highest score of 34. Injury has prevented him for adding to his single cap and blighted his game again this season but Carberry’s quality is proven – 43.72 first class average across 131 matches – and the thirty-two year-old should not be discounted even though he is not a long-term proposition.

 

5. Alex Hales

Hard-hitting Hales made the headlines earlier this summer with his superb t20 knock of 99 against the West Indies but a test call might be too soon for the promising Notts man. The twenty-three year-old right-hander averages just 30.70 in the longer format this summer.

Alastair Cook made his test debut at twenty-one. He must decide whether he wants a companion in his mould.

 

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