Strauss admits Twenty20 out of his league

Strauss admits Twenty20 out of his leagueLondon, Apr. 8 : England cricket captain Andrew Strauss has admitted that he is not ideally suited to Twenty20 cricket, and therefore, he agreed with the selectors that there was need for him to stand down and have someone else in charge for the duration of the second ICC World Twenty20 tournament.

"I hope that my one-day innings, when I scored 79 off 61 balls, showed there is more to my game than being a stodgy test opener. That is why I feel very strongly that I can keep doing a job in 50-over cricket, but in Twenty20 cricket, you need the power players, which is not necessarily a strength of mine," The Independent quoted Strauss, as saying.

"I think whoever captains any team should be worth their place in the side. I didn''t feel I was necessarily in the strongest XI of Twenty20 players in the country, so it would be wrong for me to captain the side. I am very comfortable doing the two forms that I am doing, someone else can have an opportunity in the shorter form," he added.

Strauss said Kent''s Rob Key is definitely a candidate for the top job given the respect that he commands in cricket circles in England, both as a player and a leader.

Strauss was upbeat about England''s chances in the tournament. "I think the side has a good opportunity of doing well. The last time we had a global event on home soil [the 2004 ICC Champions Trophy] we got to the final, which shows the advantage of holding it on our own soil."

Strauss was also confident of an Ashes triumph this summer.

"There is definitely scope for putting one over Australia. We back ourselves to beat most teams in our conditions, and a lot of the Australians have not had a huge amount of experience over here," he said.

England could also do with the return of former captain Michael Vaughan, said Strauss.

"If Vaughany is scoring runs and playing well, he could be a massive bonus for us to have in the side. He is a quality performer in test cricket. The experience he brings would have a massive effect on the side," Strauss said. (ANI)