The steel of Strauss
Will
25-Feb-2013
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A very interesting interview by Michael Atherton of Andrew Strauss in today's Telegraph reveals the steel behind Strauss' relaxed demeanour (and banality), and of his credentials as England's Test captain.
Does he want the job? Pause. A pause, I reckon, is always a bad sign at this juncture. Such is the mental strain that comes with the captaincy - it is a constant companion, and not always a pleasant one - that the potential candidate really has to want the job. Not covet it necessarily, but he should relish the prospect and the challenge. This is the one great advantage Flintoff has right now, that and the fact that if he is captain he can always call upon himself to bowl, an advantage denied to Strauss throughout this series.
But Strauss's pause is not so much because he doesn't want the job - he soon makes it absolutely clear that he does - but because he is not sure a candidate should be so brazen about it. "It's not a job you should demand. If you're constantly jumping up and down shouting for it, I'd question your motives. I'd question whether you're doing it for the right reasons, for your own ego. Having said that, if the selectors asked me to do it against Pakistan I'd love to. And I know that I'd have the players' absolute support."