England captain Andrew Strauss has insisted he has no desire to rid himself of the pressure of leadership despite a poor run of form with the bat.
Strauss on Wednesday received the prestigious Reliance ICC Test Championship mace for leading the team that finished on top of the Reliance ICC Test Championship table on the annual cut-off date of 1 April.
Clive Lloyd, chairman of the ICC Cricket Committee and former West Indies captain, presented the mace to Strauss who also collected a cheque of US$175,000 from Rod Riley, Executive Senior Vice President, Reliance Communications, ADAG, in a ceremony that was staged at Coronation Garden at Lord’s and attended by England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) Chief Executive David Collier.
The Middlesex opener is all set to skipper England in the first of a three-Test series against the West Indies at his Lord’s home ground on Thursday with a record of just one hundred in his last 49 Test innings behind him.
However, the 35-year-old left-hander, England’s Test captain since 2009, told reporters at Lord’s here on Wednesday he was a long way from feeling ‘fed up’ with the job of leading the side.
“Not even close,” Strauss said. “There may be a situation where that has happened to England captains in the past and maybe it will to me in the future, but I’m not there at the moment yet. “I’m excited about the challenges ahead, to come out at Lord’s again and hopefully we will all show what we’re capable of this summer.”
South Africa arrive later in the English season for what could be a clash for the number one Test ranking and Strauss said he was looking forward to making a major contribution in both campaigns.
“The West Indies series is an important one for us and they’re a vastly improved side, so it will be a big challenge.
