(Alastair Cook), Andrew Strauss (Tests) and Stuart Broad (T20) pose
for a picture in the Long Room at Lord's.
LONDON: Alastair Cook and Stuart Broad were appointed as the new captains of England's one-day international and Twenty20 teams respectively, it was announced here on Thursday.
Andrew Strauss, who has retired from one-day internationals, remains Test skipper meaning England now has separate captains for all three international formats.
Cook, Strauss's opening partner in Tests, was not even a member of the England side at the recent one-day World Cup in the subcontinent. Broad replaced all-rounder Paul Collingwood as Twenty20 captain.
Strauss, who led England to the World Cup quarterfinals where they were beaten by Sri Lanka in Colombo in March, said: “I've enjoyed my time as England one-day captain immensely and I'm extremely proud of the strides we've made in limited overs cricket over the past two years.
Long way to go
“We still have a long way to go if we're to achieve our goal of winning ICC global events and I feel now is the right time for me to step aside and ensure someone else takes up that challenge.
“Retiring from one-day cricket will also enable me to focus solely on the Test captaincy and our ongoing development in the Test arena as we also strive to be the top ranked team in world cricket.
“I look forward to working closely with both Alastair and Stuart as we work together to progress England's development across all forms of the game.”
Strauss, 34, had been widely expected to stand down from one-dayers after the World Cup.
Cook was the star England batsman during the 3-1 Ashes series triumph, making 766 runs.
But he was not included in the subsequent one-day series or World Cup squads. There has long been the belief the 26-year-old Cook, who had made just three ODI appearances in the past two-and-a-half years, all during last year's tour of Bangladesh when Strauss was rested, is too staid a batsman for the one-day game.
However, much the same was long said about fellow left-hander Strauss and he was arguably England's best batsman at the World Cup, scoring a superb century in the thrilling tie with co-host and eventual champion India.
Cook said: “Andrew Strauss has led the one-day team to continued success over the past two years and I'll be looking to continue that progress as captain.”
Fast-bowling all-rounder Broad, will make his debut as T20 captain when he leads the world champion against Sri Lanka in Bristol on June 25.
He said: “It's a huge privilege to be named England Twenty20 captain.
Collingwood added: “It's been a privilege to captain my country.” — AFP
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