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Cricketer Strauss feels let down after England snub

England’s Andrew Strauss, left, edges a ball from South Africa’s Morne Morkel to slip to lose his wicket during the third day of the third Test match at Edgbaston, Birmingham, England, last Friday. PHOTO: AFP

Andrew Strauss has admitted he was disappointed to miss out on the England captaincy to Kevin Pietersen.

South-Africa born Pietersen, 28, was confirmed as Test skipper after Michael Vaughan quit and also replaced former one-day skipper Paul Collingwood.

But England opener Strauss captained his country successfully in 2006, winning three out of five Test when Vaughan was injured, and felt he deserved another chance.

“The selectors had a decision to make. They spoke long and hard about which direction they wanted to go in,” Strauss said.

“If they wanted a captain for all three formats including Twenty20, the list would have been short,” he said. “I’m not involved in two of the formats and Alastair Cook hasn’t been in the Twenty20 side recently.”

“I would have liked to have done the Test job and, to that degree, I am disappointed I have not been given the opportunity,” he said.

Strauss believes Pietersen will find it hard to emulate Vaughan, who won 26 of his 51 Tests during a five-year reign, because he has so little captaincy experience.

“It is a brave decision because KP [Pietersen] hasn’t done much captaincy before. But I think he has matured a lot in the last couple of years,” Strauss said.

“We are all very sad Michael has decided to step down. Having been such an influential figure in the dressing room, it is going to take some used to someone else being in charge,” he said. “It is a big job. I’ve done it a few times and you only had to see how much it meant to Michael Vaughan yesterday to realize it is an encompassing job.”
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