David Blackburn

The quiet cult of Andrew Strauss

‘I’m fascinated by politics. But I’m not that enthralled by any of the parties.’ Those are the words of Andrew Strauss, who resigned the England cricket captaincy earlier today, in an interview with the Spectator last year. The interview was conducted by the former England cricketer Ed Smith, who remarked that ‘Strauss is not talked about with hushed awe’. Where the great Mike Brearley has entered mythology, Smith noted, Strauss has been merely marked ‘effective’.

Now we must talk of Strauss the cricketer in the past tense; and Smith’s judgment merits revisiting. True, Strauss did not inspire awe. He was not a tactician, either in the modern or traditional mould. He was not a macho aggressor, on or off the field. He was content to play it safe before the cameras, answering questions honestly on the occasions when his team underperformed; and he relied on his bowlers to contain the opposition in order to keep those defeats to a minimum.

But that should not diminish or disguise his qualities.

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