Biography of Andrew Strauss:- Andrew Strauss is an International cricketer who was born on March 2, 1977, in South Africa and plays international cricket for England.
Andrew Strauss, at present, is the director of England Cricket Board. Strauss led England to Ashes win in 2009 as a captain and as a leading run-scorer from both sides in the series.
Biography of Andrew Strauss
- Born:- : 2 March 1977 (age 40), Johannesburg, South Africa
- Height:- 1.8 m
- Spouse:- Ruth McDonald (m. 2003)
- Years:- Team
- Number:- 14 (England cricket team), 6 (Middlesex County Cricket Club)
Andrew Strauss went to England at the age of six, played school and college cricket in England. He started Middle-class cricket for Middlesex Cricket Club in 1998. Strauss finally got a chance in International cricket in 2003 against Sri Lanka in an away series.
The following nine years saw a finest left-handed opening batsman for England. His inclusion in the team was made after Michael Vaughen, who later was a permanent opening partner of Andrew Strauss in ODI and test cricket for a long time, was injured and ruled out of the series.
When Strauss made his debut, he marked a great impact on selectors and cricket fans by scoring 195 on his debut.
It included a century and 83-run inning, he was deprived of his second century in the second inning with a runout. He was only the fourth English batsman to score a century on his debut at Lords’ Cricketground.
Strauss made another great start by scoring a century in his first away series, his scores were 126 and 94 not out at his second Home South Africa. At the end of 2004, Strauss was one of the most celebrated cricketers, an asset for the English team.
He continued with the best figures after Andrew was made Test captain, England jumped to the top of ICC rankings and stood there for nearly a year, and won Ashes series 2009.
After retirement, Andrew Strauss was made Director of ECB in 2015 and still holds the position. After playing his 100th Test match, Strauss retired from International cricket in 2015.
Early Career
Andrew Strauss played for Durham University at the beginning of his career. Later in 1998, he became a permanent member of Middlesex Cricket Club. After two years, Strauss found his consistent form.
He rocked the ranks in first-class average 45, 48, and 51 in the years after 2000 respectively. In 2002, MCC appointed Strauss as their captain. He remained the captain until he was called by ECB for national duty.
In 2003, England toured Sri Lanka as part of their long tour. He made his ODI debut against Sri Lanka in 2003. He could not make enough impact and was ruled out for the rest of the matches.
In the next tour against West Indies, he scored crucial 29-run inning that resulted in a win for England. His test debut was perfect as he dreamt. He made a century in the first inning and was run out after scoring 83 runs in the second inning.
He became fourth English to score a century on debut at Lords’ and fifteenth debut centurion for England. Strauss turned out to be a leading run-scorer and consistent opening batsman for three years straight.
Ashes 2005 was a bit unlucky for England; Andrew Strauss managed to average 39.30 in the series. He scored two centuries with six catches. In 2006, Andrew Strauss managed to play few cricket matches before he returned to England for the birth of his child.
When Pakistan toured England for a 3-match test series, Strauss made some useful runs, and England won the controversial series 3-0. Strauss was awarded as Player of the Series.
The next couple of years were dried up on performance. He returned to Test squad for the series against New Zealand and South Africa. Against New Zealand, Andrew Strauss was retained as an opener with Alastair Cook. After a fifty in the first match, Strauss made a century in the second game.
At the end of the series, he was named man of the series for his 266 runs. His 200 runs partnership against India in 2008 was impressive enough to appoint him captain of the test team. In 2009, Andrew Strauss was namednew captain of England.
Captaincy and Retirement
When Kevin Pietersen left captaincy, Strauss was made captain for the coming Ashes and West Indies tour. Ashes 2009 was a great beginning for Andrew Strauss as a captain. As an opening batsman, Strauss responded professionally and won the series against Australia.
In a five-match series, the fifth test was the most crucial one as both teams were leveled 1-1. The nail-biting encounter ended with a win for England by 197 runs. He was named Man of the series by an Australian captain.
In 2010-11 Ashes series in Australia, Strauss and company won comprehensively by 3-1 mark finishing their streak in the last match winning by an inning at the SCG.
England lost to Bangladesh in group stages and then to Sri Lanka in Quarterfinals. After the loss of Sri Lanka and weak form of England in World Cup 2011, Andrew Strauss retired from captaincy and International cricket in 2011.
He continued Test Cricket for one more year. England became number one in Test Rankings during Strauss captaincy. He retired from the format on 29th August 2012 after completing his 100th test match.
Andrew Strauss Stats and Records
In 100 Test matches for England, Andrew Strauss scored 7037 runs at an average of 40.91 with 21 centuries and 27 fifties.
His top score was 177. In ODI cricket, Strauss played 127 matches, amassed 4205 runs with a batting average of 35.63. Andrew Strauss has 6 hundred and 27 half-centuries in One Day Internationals.
Autobiography of Andrew Strauss
Andrew Strauss is the author of many books, his first-ever autobiography, coming into Play: My Life in Test Cricket was released in 2006. In 2010, another biography of Andrew Strauss, Testing Times:
In Pursuit of the Ashes was published in collaboration with Scyld Berry. Driving Ambition was his last and complete autobiography that hit stores in 2014.
Andrew Strauss Family and Personal Life
Andrew Strauss married an Australian and British actress, Ruth McDonald in 2003. Strauss has two sons, Sam and Luca. He currently resides in England with family. Andrew Strauss received Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2011.
