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So Andrew Strauss has finally been dropped. It’s about time.
We don’t mean that in the sense that he’s not good enough for England, just that it seems to have been certain to happen for altogether too many matches. Strauss has been going to the crease thinking it was his last chance to turn things around for about 30 innnings now. Last chance pressure doesn’t lead to good batting.
Strauss himself says: “I have been a victim of some poor umpiring decisions, some unfortunate dismissals and a few incredibly good balls delivered at just the wrong moment,” which is a bit worrying, because we distinctly remember him being a victim of playing wide balls straight into fielders’ hands on a number of occasions.
Still, whether he comes back into the England team as a different batsman or not, it doesn’t really matter as long as he thinks he’s a different batsman. For all the luck and the bad shots, 90 percent of the problem has been batting in limbo – non-committal in stroke and uncertain of his place.
It’ll be interesting to see whether the world’s bowlers have ‘worked him out’ or whether this poor period was largely self-inflicted.
I distinctly remember Strauss being the victim of some poor umpiring decisions during the last Ashes, rather similar to Damien Martin the victim of some poor umpiring decisions in the 2005 Ashes – which basically ended his career. Yes, he came back temporarily but, in the end, was too scared to tell Ricky he’d lost it, and faded away.
Maybe he lost his incrimating photo of the chairmen of selectors and the camel.