A compact left-hander with a preference for pummelling the ball square off the back foot with a crunching cut, Andrew Strauss has worked out a superb technique for Test cricket. He put early problems against Shane Warne behind him to make two hundreds in the epic 2005 Ashes series, and added another big one (161) in 2009 to set up England's first victory over the old enemy at Lord's since 1934. Mike Atherton and Alec Stewart, by contrast, only ever managed one century apiece against Australia.
Calm and urbane, Strauss put the disappointment of being passed over as England's captain for the 2006-07 Ashes series - probably a godsend, as it turned out, as even Doctor Who would have had trouble with those rampant whitewash-bound Aussies - to bounce back in 2009 and orchestrate the recapture of the urn.
Strauss's early county cricket with Middlesex did not exactly suggest a star in the making, but a century in 2003 against Lancashire, with Andrew Flintoff charging in, set the selectors sniffing - and also made Strauss believe he had what it took. After a few one-day caps that winter Strauss was called up for the first Test against New Zealand in 2004 after Michael Vaughan twisted his knee in the Lord's nets. Strauss responded with a confident century, and was unlucky to miss another one in the second innings when Nasser Hussain ran him out 17 short. But Hussain had seen enough: with Vaughan set to return, he announced his immediate retirement, confident that Strauss was the real deal.
Strauss has been emphasising that almost ever since, responding to being dropped from the one-day team by upping his strike-rate, and probably saving his Test career after a poor run with an eight-hour 177 in a series-clinching victory over New Zealand early in 2008. That century had been a long time coming: after ten tons in his first 30 Tests, Strauss did not reach three figures in his next 15 games - and the knives were well and truly out when he fell for a duck, driving loosely, in the first innings of that Napier match.
After an early flirtation with captaincy in 2006 - he memorably dubbed himself "the stand-in for the stand-in" in the absence of the injured Vaughan and Flintoff - Strauss inherited the armband again early in 2009, after the messy sacking of Kevin Pietersen and coach Peter Moores. It was not a good way to start - but Strauss has hardly put a foot wrong since.
Full name Andrew John Strauss
Born March 2, 1977, Johannesburg, Transvaal, South Africa
Current age 33 years 283 days
Major teams England, Middlesex, Northern Districts
Nickname Straussy, Levi, Mareman, Muppet
Playing role Opening batsman
Batting style Left-hand bat
Bowling style Left-arm medium
Height 5 ft 11 in
Education Radley College, Durham University
Batting and fielding averages
| Mat | Inns | NO | Runs | HS | Ave | BF | SR | 100 | 50 | 4s | 6s | Ct | St | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tests | 79 | 143 | 6 | 5888 | 177 | 42.97 | 11754 | 50.09 | 19 | 21 | 729 | 9 | 89 | 0 |
| ODIs | 113 | 112 | 8 | 3692 | 154 | 35.50 | 4621 | 79.89 | 5 | 24 | 403 | 22 | 49 | 0 |
| T20Is | 4 | 4 | 0 | 73 | 33 | 18.25 | 64 | 114.06 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| First-class | 204 | 362 | 19 | 14431 | 177 | 42.07 | 38 | 63 | 181 | 0 | ||||
| List A | 240 | 233 | 14 | 7118 | 163 | 32.50 | 9 | 46 | 82 | 0 | ||||
| Twenty20 | 28 | 28 | 0 | 519 | 60 | 18.53 | 442 | 117.42 | 0 | 2 | 73 | 3 | 12 | 0 |
| Mat | Inns | Balls | Runs | Wkts | BBI | BBM | Ave | Econ | SR | 4w | 5w | 10 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tests | 79 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| ODIs | 113 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 0 | - | - | - | 3.00 | - | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| T20Is | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| First-class | 204 | 102 | 89 | 2 | 1/16 | 44.50 | 5.23 | 51.0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| List A | 240 | 6 | 3 | 0 | - | - | - | 3.00 | - | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Twenty20 | 28 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Career statistics
Test debut England v New Zealand at Lord's, May 20-24, 2004
Last Test Australia v England at Adelaide, Dec 3-7, 2010
ODI debut Sri Lanka v England at Dambulla, Nov 18, 2003
Last ODI England v Pakistan at Southampton, Sep 22, 2010
Last ODI England v Pakistan at Southampton, Sep 22, 2010
T20I debut England v Australia at Southampton, Jun 13, 2005
Last T20I West Indies v England at Port of Spain, Mar 15, 2009
Last T20I West Indies v England at Port of Spain, Mar 15, 2009
First-class debut 1998
Last First-class Australia v England at Adelaide, Dec 3-7, 2010
List A debut 1997
Last List A England v Pakistan at Southampton, Sep 22, 2010
Twenty20 debut Surrey v Middlesex at The Oval, Jun 13, 2003
Last Twenty20 West Indies v England at Port of Spain, Mar 15, 2009
Last First-class Australia v England at Adelaide, Dec 3-7, 2010
List A debut 1997
Last List A England v Pakistan at Southampton, Sep 22, 2010
Twenty20 debut Surrey v Middlesex at The Oval, Jun 13, 2003
Last Twenty20 West Indies v England at Port of Spain, Mar 15, 2009
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