It’s good for the team that I am not there, says Andrew Strauss – Cricket News Update
After Kevin Pietersen’s return to the England team for the upcoming tour of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/AJ-Strauss-c964, the former Test captain, has admitted that it is in the best interest of the England side that he has retired from the game.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/South-Africa-c757 were up against each other in a high-profile Test series earlier this year, with ICC’s number one Test ranking at stake. The Proteas outclassed the home team in all departments to be crowned as the world’s best
side.
However, the series turned out to be a disaster for England in more ways than one. Their premier batsman, Pietersen, was dropped from the team, following his text-messages to the South African players, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/AB-de-Villiers-c887,
apparently ridiculing some of his teammates, including the captain.
After the defeat, Strauss announced his retirement from all forms of competitive cricket. Some of the analysts believe that Pietersen’s issue was one of the reasons behind the left-handed opener’s retirement.
Strauss denies that he called it a day from international sport because of differences with the lanky batsman, but admitted that it would have been very difficult for him to play with Pietersen again in the same team.
"Maybe it actually makes it easier for the team that I'm not there because some of it was directed to me. I had noticed signs that my batting was going backwards," he said. "I was starting to feel a bit old and that's not a good place
to be as a professional athlete.”
Over the last 18 months, the former captain did not enjoy a very good form, although he scored a couple of hundreds during the series against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/West-Indies-c760 earlier this year.
The South Africa born cricketer concedes that he went past his best and struggled to deliver the goods at the highest stage of the game, eventually deciding to retire.
“I first felt it 12 months ago. I didn't have a great summer in 2011 and then over the winter I didn't play particularly well. I had a bit of a resurgence against West Indies but I felt like I was swimming against the tide,” the former
left-handed batsman added.
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