England captain Strauss quits all forms of cricket

Andrew Strauss resigned as England’s Test captain and annnounced his retirement from professional cricket with immediate effect on Wednesday. “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,” Strauss said in an England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) statement issued ahead of a news conference at Lord’s. “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,” the 35-year-old, who played exactly 100 Tests, added. “The driver to all this is I haven’t batted well enough for a long time. I wasn’t going to improve batting-wise, I’ve run my race,” Strauss later said. “It’s one of these decisions when you know when your time is up.” Alastair Cook, already England’s one-day captain and Strauss’s opening partner in the five-day game, was announced as the new skipper of the Test team. Strauss insisted his retirement had nothing to do with the ongoing England exile of Kevin Pietersen.