....and now back to proper cricket,

With Glamorgan, Gloucestershire and Essex to come in the Championship promotion should be secured surely!!??? And hopefully remain the only undefeated team in the country to boot

Cap'n Strauss gone, from all international cricket as well as the captaincy. Cook takes over the Test side.

Sad, can't help but feel it's a decision that's been accelerated due to the KP fiasco. English cricket owes AS a hell of a lot of respect and gratitude.

South Africa seem to be bad news for our captains.

I'm sure it was 2003 after Graham Smith hit two consecutive double hundreds that Nasser Hussain quit.

Then in 2008 Michael Vaughan quit when the South Africans were beating us.

Now Andrew Strauss.

Lets just hope this doesn't "open the door" for Pietersen to come back and be a tool again.

Probably the right time for Strauss to retire. Good chance he would've been a walking wicket in India, which would've just led to huge amounts of speculation about him.

Will be interesting to see who they bring in to replace him in the batting line up, and, who'll field at first slip?

Cricket wasn't this much of a circus before Sky got hold of it

It was....Has been worse, just you didn't have 24 hour news channels back then.

The Ray Illingworth "supremo" era was far more of a circus.

Yes, and the Ted Dexter period before that too - 30 odd players used in one Ashes series!!....

The present set-up has actually been the most professional and polished in English history - Just a shame that a rogue South African has infested the operation with his egotistical poison.

I don't think it will happen, but I really hope Pieterson is exiled from the squad permanantly....If he is to return after Strauss' departure, it will just further inflate his ego, as he will inevitably view himself as the winner in the dispute and, even worse, see himself as irreplaceable in the side - One man cannot be allowed to hold such power in a team sport.

It might be harsh to say that Cook is inheriting a team in decline, but he'll have a tough job in India. Particularly if Swann dosen't recover full fitness and form. Not sure who will replace Strauss as opener. Gillespie has been talking up Root's chances but, talented though he is, its seems a tad soon.

I think Flower would blow a gasket if Pieterson is allowed straight back. It really would appear that he had forced out strauss.

That was a bit of a circus around Bothams' captaincy as well, don't forget.

No great shame in getting beat by the best team in the world but if he doesn't have the hunger any more then it is the right time to depart. Also gives Cook and the new opener time to gel ahead of the Ashes next year.

Prime candidates to replace Strauss at the top of the order? Carberry or Root clearly at the top of the list with possibles including the likes of Chopra, Compton (even though he isn't an opener), Hales, Mitchell in the selector's thoughts.

Fast bowling takes care of itself with the current crop we've got.
Spinning-wise I think it's time for Kerrigan to tour with the full squad especially if it's a choice between him and Tredwell.

Aye, I was just thinking of other examples off the top of my head.

the Willis era was dire - a fast bowler & no.11 batsman should never be skipper of a Test side IMO !

at least with Beefy & Lamby the menu was varied ? it's a pity Onions wasn't around at the time......