London, Aug 29: Andrew Strauss is set to resign as the England Test captain after losing the Test series 2-0 to South Africa at home, which was also his sixth defeat in the last 11 matches.
Strauss’s resignation after three years in the job would also be the latest bizarre twist in the Kevin Pietersen saga, which has stunned the England set-up over the past two weeks.
Hugh Morris, the managing director of the England team, is due to hold a press conference at Lord’s on Wednesday with Giles Clarke, the chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), set to make a statement later this afternoon when he is expected to pay a mark of respect to the England captain.
Alastair Cook, the one-day captain, is the next man in line for the top job in English Test cricket and his appointment would unite the Test and 50-over leadership.
Strauss was cagey about his future at the end of the Test series against South Africa when England lost their no 1 Test status, and admitted being exhausted by the job and the controversy caused by Pietersen’s axing.
It remains to be seen if Strauss will decide to play on as an opening batsman and continue a career, which has seen him score 21 centuries in 100 Tests, The Telegraph reports.
Before the start of this summer Strauss had been clear in his plan to retire after the back-to-back Ashes series next year, but England’s poor form in 2012 concluding in their series loss to South Africa, their first defeat at home for four years, seems to have changed his mind.
Strauss first captained England when he stood in for the injured Michael Vaughan in 2006 and led the team in 50 Tests winning 25, and the peak of his career was the 3-1 series win in Australia, England’s first Ashes away win since 1986-87.
© ANI
