Andrew Strauss went from injury replacement to Ashes-winning England captain
Andrew Strauss only got his first Test cap because Michael Vaughan hurt his knee in the nets. At Lord's in 2004 the left-handed opener made 112 and 83, took the match award, and began a career that ended with him leading England in all formats and retiring after his 100th Test.
Born on 2 March 1977, Strauss moved to Britain aged six and studied economics at Durham University, writing his dissertation on why perestroika failed. He also played rugby at fly-half until his coach, Graeme Fowler, talked him into giving it up to protect his Middlesex contract. His county debut came in 1998 with 83 in his first innings, yet early averages were modest. Then came three strong seasons in a row, and Middlesex made him captain in 2002 when Angus Fraser retired.
Known for cutting and pulling off the back foot, and for sharp catching at slip, he nearly scored twin centuries twice early on, including 126 and 94 not out at Port Elizabeth in December 2004. A slump in 2007 cost him his place, but he fought back with a career-best 177 in New Zealand the following year. After Kevin Pietersen resigned, Strauss took the captaincy for the 2008–09 West Indies tour.
His high point was the 2009 Ashes. England won 2–1 and he topped the run charts on either side with 474, including 161 in the first England Ashes win at Lord's for 75 years. He retired on 29 August 2012 as England's second most successful captain by wins, trailing only Vaughan, and reporters applauded at the end of his farewell press conference, something never seen before.
Strauss later served as the ECB's Director of Cricket from 2015 and was knighted on 10 September 2019. After his wife Ruth died of a rare lung cancer in December 2018, he set up a Lord's Test day in her memory, modelled on Glenn McGrath's pink Sydney Test.
Source: Andrew Strauss
