Strauss may skip Bangladesh trip

Andrew Strauss has admitted he may sit out next year's tour of Bangladesh to ensure against burnout before another packed home season followed by the Ashes defence in Australia.

It has already been widely speculated that Strauss - along with other senior players - will be excused the trip to Bangladesh, which includes three ODIs and two Tests, so that workloads can be managed. Strauss said that it was too early to make a firm decision either way, but the situation would be assessed when the team returns from South Africa in January.

"We have a busy summer of cricket before the Ashes in Australia so there's a lot of cricket ahead," he told BBC Radio Five's Sportsweek programme. "The key is to make sure the players are fresh but at the same time you don't want to be tinkering with the side too much.

"The Bangladesh tour is quite a useful one in our development in terms of playing on sub-continental wickets...I'm not going to say I am definitely on it at this stage and I'm not going to say I'm definitely not on it, we'll just need to see where we are as a side."

"I can't guarantee anything, I don't know what will happen in the next few months. We only select one tour at a time. The South Africa tour is a massive one and then we've got Bangladesh in February and March. When we select that we'll sit down and see where we are as a side with injuries, niggles and all that stuff. We'll sit down and decide the best course of action."

Next summer England face Bangladesh and Pakistan as well as another one-day series against Australia before heading down under for the Ashes series which starts on November 25. However, unlike some of his team-mates Strauss won't be required for the ICC World Twenty20 in West Indies, which starts at the end of April, although the domestic season will have begun by then so he could be in action for Middlesex.

If Strauss does stay at home when the team heads to Bangladesh - with the first ODI starting on February 28 - it will mean new captains are required for the one-day and Test side. Paul Collingwood could be handed the one-day job again on a temporary basis, but it's the Test role that would create most interest. Alastair Cook, who has been named vice-captain for the South Africa series, is the likely option although he has struggled for form in recent times.

There are few other stand-out candidates, but there remains a feeling that Kevin Pieteren has unfinished business with the captaincy following his short-lived stint which ended in acrimony at the start of the year. Earlier this week, Pietersen said he wasn't interested in another crack at the job - "Mentally I've left it. I respect Strauss too much to talk about the captaincy" - but Strauss believes his time may come again.

"I certainly wouldn't rule it out. He's got some attributes that make him a very good captain," Strauss said. "He's very confident in his own ability, he's got strong views on the game and he's got the ability to lead by example. I wouldn't rule it out completely."

"The timing [of Pietersen's appointment] wasn't ideal because he and Peter Moores didn't really see eye to eye and I think that is fundamental to being a successful coach or captain. You knew there was a frosty relationship between the two of them and it just didn't feel quite right."