Opening batsman Alastair Cook was named as England’s one-day captain on Thursday after Andrew Strauss opted to retire from the limited overs game to prolong his test career. Cook’s promotion is a surprise since he was overlooked for England’s World Cup campaign that ended with a 10-wicket thrashing by co-hosts and runners-up Sri Lanka in the quarter-finals.
With Strauss continuing to lead the test side England will now have three different captains in international cricket as fast bowler Stuart Broad was installed as Twenty20 skipper after Paul Collingwood decided to step down from the role. “I’ve enjoyed my time as England one-day captain immensely and I’m extremely proud of the strides we’ve made in limited overs cricket over the past two years,” Strauss said at a news conference at Lord’s cricket ground.
“We still have a long way to go if we’re to achieve our goal of winning ICC (International Cricket Council) global events and I feel now is the right time for me to step aside and ensure someone else takes up that challenge. “Retiring from one-day cricket will also enable me to focus solely on the test captaincy and our ongoing development in the test arena as we also strive to be the top ranked team in world cricket.” Left hander Cook, 26, was the outstanding batsman during England’s 3-1 Ashes triumph, during which he scored 766 runs.
However, he was not included for the subsequent one-day series against Australia nor the World Cup in the Indian sub-continent. “Andrew Strauss has led the one-day team to continued success over the past two years and I’ll be looking to continue that progress as captain,” Cook, who has made just three ODI appearances in the past 2-1/2 years, said. “I’ve worked hard on my limited overs cricket in recent times. I’ve never seen myself as a test batsman exclusively and I know I have a lot to offer strategically and as a top order batsman in one-day cricket.
“I will continue to work closely with Andrew Strauss and also Stuart Broad as we form a leadership team across all forms of the game. We have the chance to work together and share ideas which will benefit our cricket on all three formats.” England host Sri Lanka in a three-test, five-match ODI series from May 26 before taking on World Cup champions India from July 21 to September 16.
