School of hard knocks prepares Andrew Strauss

Still, unlike Obama at his oath-of-office ceremony, the new England captain has made an error-free start, speaking sensibly to the media, evading nothing and giving his first few days a grand theme - that of player responsibility. Something that would be considered so fundamental to professionalism, even to players of the most recent generation, has been waylaid in the drive to cover all bases. That such a recalibration of priorities is deemed necessary is terribly damning of paths recently taken, but, surely, asking players to take responsibility for their actions is a necessary first step.