Is Strauss the Right Man After Pietersen?

It seems highly unlikely that anyone, pundit, professional, or devoted cricket fan, could have predicted the events of the last week. Much of the affair surrounding Pietersen and Moores’ co-departure is still shrouded in mystery, but what is clear is that Andrew Strauss has got his hands full if he is to prepare the England Squad successfully for their tour of the West Indies.

It is difficult to know how to view Pietersen over his departure. On the one hand there will be those who  will feel that he was right to press forward the right of the team captain to have a considerable say in team selection, and that his demands to the ECB represented not an ultimatum, but a bold stand against the influence of the corporate classes.

However, there will also be those who will simply cite this as another example from a long sheet of Pietersen’s petulance. Having already walked out on South Africa, admittedly for seemingly noble reasons, and then Nottinghamshire just prior to their relegation, England might seem to many to be the next step on the ladder.

And there can be no doubt that, even if Pietersen’s motives were righteous, and not merely an attempt to pass the buck for England’s poor performance in Indiaonto Peter Moores, he has nevertheless, by some of his actions, displayed astonishing naivety.

First, it seems absurd for a man to issue an ultimatum to the ECB from a beach in South Africa, apparently assuming that his word would go unquestioned. Second, his misjudgement of the level of support he had amongst the England team in his power struggle against Moores, which was the deciding factor in his departure, if not simple naivety, smacks of pure arrogance.

Furthermore, it remains to be seen how tough it will be for Pietersen, assuming he returns to the team, to sit in the dressing room knowing that at least half of the team, and probably more, didn’t want him as captain. Even for someone as self assured as him, that will not be easy.

Moving on from Pietersen, the main question is whether Strauss can fill the gap. In my view, there is no doubt that he can, and indeed if anything this appointment has come two years too late.

After his successes as captain against Pakistanin the summer of 2006, the decision to appoint Flintoff ahead of him for the Ashes down under seemed then, just as it does now, nonsensical. Indeed, not only did the England team suceeed under Strauss, but his personal performances also improved, with two centuries in the Pakistan series after a barren patch against Sri Lanka earlier in the summer.

Given the emphasis placed nowadays on how such an appointment affects a player’s performance, this fact cannot be excluded.

There will of course be those who will say that Strauss is too “mild” to lead Englandin a series as highly charged as the Ashes next summer.

But the important thing for a captain is to remain calm in such situations, and indeed giving the captaincy to a man of level temperament leaves the more flamboyant and fiery members of the team, particularly Flintoff and Pietersen, to concentrate on their own games.

Even if he had held a longer tenure, Pietersen would never have been far from controversy, and although his ebullient nature might have set up some stunning victories, one can’t help feeling that with Strauss at the helm, England are in safer hands.