Perhaps inevitably, I tried my hand at commentary for Sky TV for the 2013 Ashes series, as well as writing a column for the Sunday Times. For a cricket fan like me, the prospect of having the best seat in the house was too hard to resist.
My experiences in the commentary box have definitely allowed me to look at the role of the media from a different point of view. While players get understandably defensive if any criticism comes their way, commentators are often merely reacting to whatever the topic of the day might be. There is actually far more positivity and genuine support for the England team than players think. Although it would never have been feasible, it would have done me good to spend a day or two up in the commentary box while I was still a player. It might have saved me from a little of the stress and frustration I experienced when going through the various dips in my career.
The technicalities of broadcasting certainly took a little getting used to, but I thoroughly enjoyed being part of a team of mainly ex-England captains, who unsurprisingly were just as passionate and intrigued by the game of cricket as I am.
It was also fascinating to watch the 2013 Ashes series unfold while no longer being directly involved in proceedings. Most neutral observers would have predicted an England win, and in that sense the series yielded few surprises. Australia, reeling before the series had even begun after a number of self-inflicted off-field gaffes, as well as suffering the ignominy of a 4–0 whitewash defeat in India earlier in the year, performed better than expected – especially after losing the second Test match at Lord’s so heavily.
The eventual 3–0 series result flattered England a little. However, it would be hard to argue that they weren’t the better side over the course of the five Test matches. It shows how far the relative fortunes of the sides have changed since 2005 that Australia’s defeat was met with some relief by Australian supporters, while England fans were left feeling a little short-changed.
For Alastair Cook, it was the first time he had had to deal with the huge challenges in terms of pressure, expectation and non-stop demands that face any England captain during an Ashes series, and he will be delighted he was able to fulfil the boyhood dream of lifting the Ashes urn at The Oval at the first time of asking. Many past England captains would have given their left arm to match what he and the rest of his players achieved.
As his former opening partner, and a close friend, I was delighted to see him withstand the stress and lead England to victory. With so little time before the return leg starts in Brisbane, he is no doubt preparing himself for a busy winter.
I have to admit that I felt a tinge of jealousy as the players huddled together after securing the series at Durham. There are many things I don’t miss about international cricket, but those times as a group, when all the players come together to celebrate a hard-earned victory, are the moments that any player savours. Nothing can replace them.
Aside from cricket, I have a few opportunities in the commercial world that I am keen to follow, including setting up a consultancy business focusing on leadership and performance, called Think Half Full.
In the long term I will be looking to commit my time to one or two of these pursuits but not to all of them. I am not sure it is possible to keep so many balls in the air without one of them dropping.
One new career that has been mooted in the press is as a politician. I have no idea where this idea came from. Perhaps somebody saw my ability to keep talking through a press conference while actually saying nothing of consequence and reckoned that it would transfer well into the world of politics. While I haven’t given the idea a lot of thought, it doesn’t feel like the right direction for me. If there was one area in the sport that I didn’t particularly warm to, it was the politics, both at domestic and international level.
I suppose I still have a little time on my side. While I will now always be an ex-England cricketer, I can never be sure what opportunities lie ahead. If they are anything like the ones I have had so far in my life, I will count myself incredibly fortunate.
In the meantime, my son is nagging me to bowl at him in the garden …
CAREER STATISTICS
Compiled by Benedict Bermange
INDEX
Abu Dhabi
Adelaide
Afrikaners
Ahmed, Mushtaq
Ajmal, Saeed
Akhtar, Shoaib
Altree, Darren
Ambrose, Curtly
American football
Amir, Mohammad
Amla, Hashim
Anderson, James
2006–7 Ashes
2009 Ashes
misses Bangladesh tour
2010–11 Ashes
2011 Test against India
and Pietersen crisis
Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU)
Antigua
Ashes: 2005 series
2009 series
2010–11 series
ECB changes timing of
Asif, Mohammad
Atherton, Mike
Australia
Strauss family in
AS plays Grade cricket in
2005 Ashes
2006–7 Ashes
ODI cricket
2009 Ashes
2010–11 Ashes
2015 World Cup
Australia A
Avery, James
Azharuddin, Mohammad
Bairstow, Jonny
Bangalore
Bangladesh
AS on tour in
ODI matches
2010 Test
Barmy Army
baseball
Basil D’Oliveira Trophy
Bates, Steve
BBC Sports Personality of the Year
Beane, Billy
Beer, Michael
Bell, Ian
2006–7 Ashes
2007–8 New Zealand Test
2010–11 Ashes
2011 Test against India
Bennett, Don
Benson & Hedges Cup
Birmingham
Blair, Tony
Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI)
Bopara, Ravi
Botham, Ian
Brandes, Eddo
Brearley, Mike
Bresnan, Tim
Brisbane
Broad, Stuart
2009 Ashes
2010 Test against Pakistan
2010–11 Ashes
as Twenty20 captain
2011 Test against India
2012 Test against South Africa
Buchanan, John
Bucknor, Steve
Bull, Steve
Butcher, Mark
Butt, Salman
Buttler, Jos
Caldicott Preparatory School
Cameron, David
Canada
Cape Town
Cardiff
Centurion
Champions League
Chanderpaul, Shivnarine
Channel 9 television (Australia)
Chennai
Clark, Stuart
Clarke, Giles
Clarke, Michael
Collier, David
Collingwood, Paul
2006–7 Ashes
one-day cricket
criticism of
2009 Ashes
2010–11 Ashes
retirement
Colombo
Conway, Dean
Cook, Alastair
2009 Ashes
2010 Test in Bangladesh
2010–11 Ashes
as ODI captain
2011 Test against India
2011–12 Test in Sri Lanka
and Pietersen crisis
County Championships
county cricket
Cronje, Hansie
Cullinan, Daryll
Cuttack
Davies, Steve
Dawes, Joe
Decision Review System (DRS)
Delhi Daredevils
Dhoni, Mahendra Singh
D
ickason, Reg
Doherty, Xavier
dot-ball percentage
Dravid, Rahul
Dubai
Durban
Durham University
ECB
tour of Zimbabwe
and Allen Stanford
and deteriorating relationship between Moores and Pietersen
splits coach’s role
and Pakistani accusations of match-fixing
and ODI cricket
and timing of the Ashes
uses three captains
Pietersen crisis
Edgbaston
Edmonds, Phil
Emburey, John
England cricket team: AS’s Test debut
AS’s first tour for
2005 Ashes
2006–7 Ashes
2007 World Cup
AS dropped
2007 Test in India
2007–8 New Zealand Test
AS returns to team
2008–9 Test in India
2008 Test against New Zealand
2008 Test against South Africa
Pietersen as captain
Strauss becomes captain
2009 tour of West Indies
relationship with media
use of statistics
2009 Ashes
2008–9 West Indies Test
2010 Test against Pakistan
ODI cricket
2009–10 Test in South Africa
2010 Test in Bangladesh
2010 World Cup
ODI series against Pakistan (2010)
2010–11 Ashes
2011 World Cup
Twenty20 cricket
2011 Test against India
2011 Test against Sri Lanka
tactics
loss of confidence after becoming world number one team
Pietersen crisis
Strauss retires as captain
goal-setting problems
2011–12 Test in Sri Lanka
2011–12 Test against Pakistan
2012 Test against South Africa
2012 Test in India
2012 Test against West Indies
2015 World Cup
Evans, Rhian
Farah, Mo
Finn, Steve
Fleming, Stephen
Fletcher, Duncan
achievements
2005 Ashes
warns AS about Warne
and Freddie Flintoff
2007 World Cup
resignation
Flintoff, Andrew (Freddie)
2005 Ashes
2006–7 Ashes
injury
as England captain
2007 World Cup
and Pietersen as captain
2009 Ashes
retirement
Flower, Andy: and AS as England captain
improves practice methods
use of statistics
achievements as coach
2009 Ashes
rests players
role split
2010–11 Ashes
and ODI cricket
Pietersen crisis
and AS’s retirement
Fowler, Graeme
Fraser, Angus
Galle
Gatting, Mike
Gayle, Chris
Germany
Gibbs, Herschelle
Gilchrist, Adam
Giles, Ashley
Gillespie, Jason
Gillette Cup
Gooch, Graham
Gordon, Bill
Gould, Ian (Gunner)
Graveney, David
Gul, Umar
Haddin, Brad
Hales, Alex
Halsall, Richard
Harmison, Steve
2005 Ashes
2006–7 Ashes
and Pietersen as captain
2009 Ashes
Hauritz, Nathan
Hayden, Matthew
Headingley
Herath, Rangana
Hilfenhaus, BW
Hitler, Adolf
Hobart
Hoggard, Matthew
Holding, Michael
Hussain, Nasser
Hussey, Mike
Hutton, Ben
India: AS on tour in
2007 Test
2008–9 Test
one-day cricket
terrorist attacks in Mumbai
match-fixing controversy
2010 World Cup
2011 World Cup
2011 Test
2012 Test
Indian Premier League (IPL)
Indore
International Cricket Council (ICC)
Inzamam-ul-Haq
Ireland
Islamabad Airport
Jamaica
Johannesburg
John, Elton
Johnson, Mitchell
Jones, Geraint
Joyce, Ed
Kallis, Jacques
Kasprowicz, Michael
Katich, Simon
Khan, Zaheer
Koenig, Sven
Koertzen, Rudi
Langer, Justin
Lara, Brian
Laud, Medha
Leamon, Nathan
Lee, Brett
Leeds
Lewis, Michael
Lloyd, David ‘Bumble’
London
London Marathon
Lord’s
Lord’s Taverners
Loughborough
McCaig, Steve
McCullum, Brendan
McDonald, Ruth see Strauss, Ruth
McGlashan, Peter
McGrath, Glenn
McLean, Nixon
Madugalle, Ranjan
Majeed, Mazhar
Martin, Chris
Martin-Jenkins, Robin
Martyn, Damien
match-fixing
Melbourne
Merlyn (spin-bowling machine)
Middlesex Country Cricket Club
AS trials for
AS joins
problems
AS captains
Moores, Peter: deteriorating relationship with Kevin Pietersen
as England coach
AS tries to change technique
Morgan, Eoin
Morgan, Piers
Morkel, Morne
Morris, Hugh
Mosman Cricket Club
Mugabe, Robert
Mumbai
terror attacks
Napier, New Zealand
Nash, David
Neale, Phil
Nel, André
New Zealand: AS’s Test debut
one-day cricket
2007 World Cup
2007–8 Test
Twenty20 cricket
News of the World
Nicholas, Mark
Noffke, Ashley
North, Marcus
Northern Districts, New Zealand
Nottingham
Nottinghamshire
Ntini, Makhaya
Oakland A’s
ODI cricket
Oram, JDP
Ormond, Jimmy
The Oval
Oxfordshire Under-19s
Packer, Kerry
Pakistan
AS on tour in
2006 Test
terrorism
2010 Test
match-fixing controversy
2010 ODI series
2011–12 Test
Pakistani Cricket Board
Panesar, Monty
Parsons, Don
Pataudi Trophy
Patel, Jeetan
Pattinson, Darren
Performance Squad (England A)
Perth
Philander, Vernon
Pietersen, Kevin
2004–5 Test in South Africa
2005 Ashes
2006–7 Ashes
2008 New Zealand Test
2008–9 Test in India
2009 Ashes
2010–11 Ashes
2011 Test against India
2011–12 Test in Sri Lanka
deteriorating relationship with Peter Moores
as England captain
resignation
in Dubai
crisis with ECB
Ponting, Ricky
2005 Ashes
2006–7 Ashes
2009 Ashes
2010–11 Ashes
Port Elizabeth
Porter, Angus
Pratt, Gary
Prior, Matt
2009 Ashes
2010–11 Ashes
and Pietersen crisis
2012 Test against South Africa
Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA)
Radcliffe, Daniel
Radley College
Raina, Sursh
Ramprakash, Mark
Red Bull
Riaz, Wahab
Richards, Viv
Robinson, Anne
Robinson, Bert
Saker, David
Saxby, Mark
Sehwag, Virender
Shah, Owais
Siddle, Peter
Sidebottom, Ryan
Singh, Yuvraj
Sky TV
Smith, Graeme
Smith, Paul
Somerset
South Africa
Strauss family in
AS’s first tour
2008 Test
match-fixing controversy
ODI matches
2009–10 Test
2012 Test
Pietersen crisis
Spray, Philip
Sreesanth, Shanthakumaran
Sri Lanka
AS on tour in
2007 Test
2008 Test
2011 World Cup
ODI cricket
2011–12 Test
Stanford, Allen
Stevens, Alan
Steyn, Dale
Strauss (AS’s father)
Strauss (AS’s grandfather)
Strauss (AS’s grandmother)
Strauss (AS’s mother)
Strauss, Andrew: family background
childhood
early cricket
at Caldicott Preparatory School
at Radley College
at Durham University
joins Middlesex
injures hamstring
plays Grade cricket in Australia
meets Ruth
captain of Middlesex
ODI cricket
Test debut
press conferences
on tour
2005 Ashes
2006–7 Ashes
and England captaincy
2007 World Cup
dropped from England team
media attention
tries to change technique
returns to England team
2007–8 New Zealand Test
Twenty20 cricket
sleep problems
2008 Test against New Zealand
2008–9 Test in India
Man of the Series awards
becomes England captain
Driving Ambition - My Autobiography Page 27
