As he contemplates life without cricket, Andrew Strauss, who has retired from all forms of the game with immediate effect, can reflect on a job well done.

Strauss took a battered and demoralized team - reeling in the aftermath of the resignation of captain Kevin Pietersen and the sacking of coach Peter Moores - and fashioned it in his own image: steadfast, honest and seeking greater, not lesser, challenges.

In doing so, he beat the Australians - the litmus test for any England captain - twice, and took his side to the top of the world Test rankings for the first time. He led by example during 3 years in which the Test team hardly lost a series.

Strauss played 100 Test matches and England won 24 of his 50 as captain, or 48 percent. That's a remarkable record for a skipper with no great bowlers at his command.

The 2010-11 Ashes victory in Australia saw Strauss become a member of an elite band of just three England captains to have captured the trophy both in England and Australia - the others being Michael Brearley and Len Hutton - as he engineered his country's first triumph Down Under for 24 years.

Strauss always seemed tailor-made for the highest honor English cricket can bestow. On debut, against New Zealand in 2004, he scored a century in the first innings and was well on his way to another in the second when he was run out for 83 by his captain, Nasser Hussain. An older, more cynical player would not have allowed that to happen, and if it had, resentment would have lingered.

However, few who saw the subsequent television interview, in which Strauss was forthright, diplomatic and wryly self-deprecating, doubted they were watching a future leader.

The young man's disappointment was tempered, no doubt, by the realization that, having scored almost 200 runs in his first outing for his country, he would surely be invited back for more.

Later, having deputized as captain for the injured Michael Vaughan, Strauss was disappointed to be overlooked to lead England in Australia in 2006-07. Duncan Fletcher, the no-nonsense Zimbabwean who was then England's coach and ultimately decided the captaincy issue, is said to have remarked privately to Strauss, "I think that, in time, you may thank me".

Indeed, Fletcher was right. The tour was a disaster. England, led by Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff, succumbed to a humiliating 5-0 defeat. Had Strauss been captain then he would never have survived the press mauling and would not have been in charge during the glory years.

Strauss prospered as an international opening batsman, possibly the hardest job in cricket, and by the end of his career had racked up 7,037 runs, including 21 centuries, at an average of 40.91. Along with Alastair Cook, the man who replaces him as captain, Strauss forged one of England's most successful and enduring opening partnerships.

However, both as a tactician and batsman, he was first and foremost defensive. Many felt he tried to make a game safe before attempting to win it. Given England's success during his time and the situation he inherited, Strauss may feel these observations to be less than generous.

But, despite two centuries against a weakened West Indies earlier this summer, Strauss failed to score enough runs against South Africa in the series just ended. The Proteas' victory saw Graeme Smith's side replace England as the world's top Test team.

Although some observers called for him to go, Strauss could have stayed on and taken England to India this winter and then faced the Australians again next year. It was typical of the man that he recognized his race was almost run and decided to move on.

Strauss denied a series of spats between Kevin Pietersen and the England and Wales Cricket Board - which eventually resulted in the mercurial batsman being dropped from the team - played any part in his decision to retire, they probably did.

While Strauss admitted he felt "let down" by Pietersen, it reflected badly on him and team director Andy Flower that they allowed the situation - antagonistic cliques in the dressing room, especially - to develop to such a dangerous degree.

Some believe that Strauss' retirement is likely to make Pietersen's return to the side easier, but it may in fact have the opposite effect. The timing of Strauss' departure may ensure that his troubled ex-colleague never again wears the Three Lions.

Cook, who is close to Strauss, may wish to begin his captaincy with a clean slate and a team of his own choosing, and Pietersen simply may not figure in his plans.

For Strauss, however, that battle is now over and he can sit back and soak up some of the 100 bottles of fine wine presented to him by his former charges. He deserves every glass.

Contact the writer at paultomic@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 09/02/2012 page7)