Strauss opts to try and find his form down the back of the sofa

With England clearly in a developmental phase of their attempts to become number one in world cricket, Andrew Strauss has opted to leave his side in the hands of his number two Alistair Cook, for the forthcoming tour of Bangladesh. With key elements of the squad Kevin Pietersen and Stuart Broad clearly in need of some direct leadership right now, the timing of his break is somewhat baffling. Yet again, however, England have opted to focus on nothing but the impending Ashes series.

Strauss himself is short of confidence out in the middle, witness his poor return of 170 runs at just 24.28 in South Africa; hardly the Strauss of the Ashes who top scored in the series with 474 runs at an impressive 52.66. He almost single-handedly drove England on to win back sport’s smallest trophy. Matt Prior came closest to his captain with 261 runs at 36.62 last summer.

It is easy to understand that this gargantuan effort will have taken its toll on Captain Strauss. Surely I’m not the only one who has noticed the hair on the crown of his head disappearing… And yes, I do believe that he deserves a break as there is an awful lot of International cricket to be played in this day and age and he would surely benefit mentally from time at home with Ruth and the kids.

Yet Strauss doesn’t play Twenty20 cricket. So he could give the first leg of the Bangladesh tour a swerve as England travel to Abu Dhabi to take on Pakistan – in two T20 fixtures. England don’t actually arrive in Bangladesh until February 21st. Even then are three ODI fixtures to contend with and the threat of England being humiliated is very real – who knows which England side will actually turn up? If it’s the side that turned up to face Australia in the 273 game marathon last summer they’re in real trouble. If it’s the side that went to the ICC Champions Trophy they should be fine… But Strauss is willing to risk potential humiliation. Fine.

Even if he misses the ODI series he could garner some support or simply say that he has ‘picked up a knock’, or perhaps someone could say to him, as he said to Graham Onions before the 4th Test in South Africa, ‘you’re looking tired and jaded mate, we’re bringing in someone else’. So, if he chose this path, he could return to cricket in an England shirt for a gentle warm-up fixture against Bangladesh A on March 7th. He could get his eye in, take to the field for the first of only two Tests on March 12th and fly back home again on March 25th.

It would then be back to the sofa, wife and kids, stick the telly on and watch the three week ICC World T20 tournament in the Caribbean, leaving Strauss to do his own thing until the first Test with Bangladesh at Lord’s on May 27th. That’s correct, May 27th, just over four whole months away. Four months off work. Sounds great, doesn’t it?

All the while, Cook has to take up the mantle of captaincy and guide Pietersen and Broad back to form and introduce the three newbies, Michael Carberry, Ajmal Shahzad and James Tredwell. I think it’s unfair on them too, if they are asked to make their International debut under a guy who is only going to be leader for two games. It’s another confused episode that has been allowed to unravel by the ECB.

The whole selection of the squad appears somewhat confused, too. There are six seam bowlers and only two spinners – both of whom turn the ball the same way. It is clear that they will need more than one spinner in the side for the Test matches on the sub-continent, so what happens if Graeme Swann or Tredwell pick up a knock on the eve of one of the Tests? Only one front line spinner and Pietersen will have to turn his arm.

This is where you have to feel sorry for Adil Rashid. The confusion over his place in the squad and future set-ups has arisen once more. Geoff Miller, chairman of selectors at the ECB, said that Rashid hasn’t had enough ‘middle time’, i.e he needs some match practice. Match practice he could have had if… he hadn’t been wasting his time in the England squad in South Africa! Bangladesh would have been the perfect place to blood the talented leg-spinner. He would have taken wickets and scored some runs. Alas, he will be playing pre-season fixtures against club sides for Yorkshire in their pre-season soiree to Barbados.

For all the confusion of selection, the Captain’s decision to try and find form from the comfort of his sofa during his four month break from International cricket, the lack of spinners, the inclusion of five uncapped players; England will probably get away with it. They will get away with it because their next round of Test fixtures is against Bangladesh in England. Then they face a Pakistan side that looked bereft of cohesion in Australia. Put simply, they should win all of their Test matches in the run-up to the Ashes defence Down Under. And that’s all anyone seems to care about.

So Strauss will most likely enjoy his lengthy break. I would imagine that a slight sense of regret at this decision may creep over him as he watches the opening exchanges of the first Test on March 12th. He will be hoping that Pietersen finds some form and Broad takes some wickets and that no serious injuries are sustained. He may also be hoping that ‘his’ squad don’t fall in love with Captain Cook.

It is disappointing, however, that a man so clearly short of form, so clearly in need of guiding his team, has chosen to miss out on two of the eight Test matches that England have before the Ashes. And surely, even if he only played in the Tests, he would have had plenty of rest. He’ll also be hoping that none of the other senior players are jealous at his treatment in being allowed a break… Four months away just seems to be utterly ludicrous.

By Miles Reucroft

January 21, 2010