Defiant Strauss eyeing lengthy run as captain
UNDER-FIRE skipper Andrew Strauss insists he is nowhere near the point of relinquishing his captaincy, as he prepares to lead England into their first Test of the summer today at Lord’s against West Indies.
Strauss concedes his position as leader and opening batsman has been put under pressure by an uncharacteristically dire run of form that has gleaned just a solitary century from his last 50 innings.
But he brushed off suggestions that his three-year stint as captain may be nearing an end and vowed to provide a robust response to his critics by hitting the runs that preserve England’s No1 world Test ranking.
“It was obviously a big issue at the end of the winter, and I recognise as captain and as an opening batsman that I need to contribute. I fully intend to do that. I’ve got no reason in my mind why I shouldn’t go on and do that this summer,” he said.
“If you’re too wedded to some ideal moment to step down, you can be very surprised by it. If I feel like I’m still contributing and helping the side be better, both as a captain and batsman, then I don’t see any reason to change things.
“It’s just not something I’ve thought about. I’d certainly like to be in a position to know when the right time is. I’ll obviously keep an eye out for it, but I don’t think we’re there at the moment – I don’t think we’re anywhere near there at the moment.”
Strauss rejected spinner Graeme Swann’s depiction of his criticism as “a witch hunt”, following a winter in which England suffered a whitewash against Pakistan and could only draw the series in Sri Lanka.
“It didn’t feel like a witch hunt; it just felt like the issue of the day, which is what happens,” he added. “The only way to switch attention elsewhere is to go out and perform, and that’s what I intend to do.”
The first of three Tests against West Indies is expected to see Yorkshire’s Jonny Bairstow handed a Test debut in the middle order, with Ravi Bopara sidelined by a thigh injury.