Strauss rules

Andrew Strauss is arguably the most successful England captain of the modern era. He shares with Mike Brearley the distinction of having beaten Australia at home and away, and this year he became the first captain to take England to the top of the official world Test rankings. Yet, unlike Brearley, Strauss is not talked about with hushed awe. His achievements are acknowledged but not mythologised, and when we meet for lunch at a busy pub in the Chilterns, no one pesters him for an autograph. You sense that not becoming a superstar is one of Strauss’s ambitions and, as usual, he has got what he wanted.

Strauss has never quite joined cricket’s aristocracy. Even this summer, as England closed in on the No. 1 ranking, Sir Ian Botham opted for prolonged silence in the commentary box when Strauss bowled the part-timer Jonathan Trott at Sachin Tendulkar, as though it was too stupid even to merit analysis.