On this day in 2012: Andrew Strauss steps down as England captain

Strauss was replaced as skipper by Alastair Cook.

Alastair Cook, left, replaced Andrew Strauss, right, as England captain in 2012 (Rui Vieira/PA) (PA Archive)

Andrew Strauss stepped down as England captain on this day in 2012 and retired from professional cricket.

One of England’s most successful captains, Strauss, then 35, was immediately replaced by Alastair Cook.

Strauss was one of only three England captains alongside Mike Brearley and Len Hutton to win the Ashes both at home and abroad, having been chosen to lead his country across all formats in 2009.

Andrew Strauss, left, was 35 when he handed over the reins to 27-year-old Alastair Cook (Andrew Matthews/PA) (PA Archive)

Within months of replacing Kevin Pietersen, Strauss guided England to an Ashes victory in 2009-10 and led them to glory in the 2010-11 series when they retained the urn in Australia.

England also became the world’s number one Test team for the first time since the rankings were introduced and Strauss finished as the country’s second-most successful captain with 24 wins from his 50 matches.

He scored 7,037 Test runs at an average of 40.91, placing him ninth in England’s all-time run-scorers list at the time.

Strauss’ decision came shortly after a stand-off with batsman Pietersen, after he had sent text messages to members of the South Africa team during their series.

Andrew Strauss is one of only three England captains to win the Ashes at home and Down Under (Gareth Copley/PA) (PA Archive)

Pietersen was dropped for the final Test of the series, after which Strauss called time on his England career.

When announcing his retirement, Strauss, who went on to become England’s director of cricket, said: “I am extremely proud of everything I have achieved as a cricketer, and I have found myself very fortunate to play in an era when some of English cricket’s greatest moments have occurred. I have loved every minute of it.”

Cook took over and went on to become England’s highest Test run-scorer and the fifth highest run-scorer in the format of all time.