Michael Atherton hails Andrew Strauss’ decision to walk away – Cricket News Update
Michael Atherton, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/England-c56013’s former captain, has hailed Andrew Strauss’ decision to call it a day, relinquishing his Test captaincy on Wednesday, August 29.
Reacting to Strauss’ departure, Atherton said, “The time is right for someone else to take over. I believe him when he says he has been having these thoughts for a while. He's been in gentle decline for a year or so.”
He rejected the notion that Strauss’ fallout with all-rounder http://www.senore.com/Cricket/South-Africa-c757 might have pushed the English skipper to retire. According to Atherton, it was Strauss’ declining form that ultimately resulted in his departure.
However, Strauss has now became the third consecutive skipper to lose his job after getting beaten by the hands of South Africa, and ironically, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/GC-Smith-c1473 was the captain on the other side every time England skippers bid farewell.
England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chairman, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Charles-Giles-Clarke-c49957, commended the outgoing skipper for the outstanding work he had done with the national team and earned them the number-one spot in Test cricket.
“http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Clarke-c51120.
Wishing incoming skipper http://www.senore.com/Cricket/AN-Cook-c1026 all the luck, Clarke hoped that the new captain will maintain the high standards set by Strauss.
Meanwhile, fellow pacer http://www.senore.com/Cricket/JM-Anderson-c1705 praising Strauss’s leadership on twitter, wrote, “Really sad to hear Straussy has called it a day. He's done so much for this England team not just as captain but also as a player.”
Cook’s first assignment as Test captain will be against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 this November, but for the time being he has to worry about the ongoing five-match one-day series against South Africa, where the tourists went one-up by winning Tuesday’s fixture.
After losing their number-one spot to the Proteas, the English are on the verge of failing to hold on to their top position in the ODIs because losing the limited overs series would place the South Africans as the ace side in the 50-over game.
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