The England cricket captain has been a great success since taking over from Kevin Pietersen. Last summer, he helped England win the Ashes as the leading runscorer; now, the nation expects only the highest standards from him.

Despite this success, it has been decided that Strauss will miss the forthcoming tour of Bangladesh, not returning until the beginning of the home season. This extended rest period given to Strauss has met much criticism; some agree that it’s best for him to rest and stay fighting fit, but many are infuriated and believe that he should lead his side through the tour. Andrew Strauss is supposed to be one of the UK’s leading sportsmen, but can’t seem to keep up with the pace like all the others do.

It is also believed that the team are not performing as well as they could be, and that they need guidance and support from their captain. There is work to be done to improve the skills of the cricketers, and this should be largely the captain’s responsibility.

Some of our London escorts follow cricket and were won over by Andrew Strauss last summer following his impressive performance against Australia. Now, he will miss the chance to play against Bangladesh, who he will face when the home season starts. This could have been an opportunity to get familiar with their techniques, but the test side will have to learn this without him. The rest of the squad will be going to Bangladesh and the United Arab Emirates in Februrary.

While Strauss is resting, Alastair Cook will take over the captaincy temporarily. Other former England captains such as Nasser Hussain, Mike Atherton and David Gower were also in the running, but were not ultimately chosen by the England selectors. The decision was made last year that some of the senior players would be taking time out to manage their work loads; Andrew Strauss has a very busy and demanding programme ahead of him this year so his break was considered necessary.

This is a great opportunity for Alastair Cook to hone his skills as a captain; he had previously been appointed as Test vice captain and had proved his leadership skills then. James Anderson has also been rested from the February tour following a severe knee injury; he will be rehabilitating after an operation.