Strauss rested, Cook to lead in Bangladesh

By Rahul Bajaj
for Cricketain.com

Published: January 19, 2010

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London: Opening batsman Alastair Cook has been named England’s test captain for the tour to Bangladesh in February as the selectors decided to rest regular captain Andrew Strauss and frontline fast bowler James Anderson.

The tour comprises two tests and three ODIs and also includes a two-match T20 series against Pakistan in Dubai, in which Paul Collingwood would take over charge of the team.

Two uncapped players, Yorkshire pace bowler Ajmal Shahzad and Kent offspinner James Tredwell, have won call-ups in both squads while another uncapped player, Hampshire’s opening batsman, Michael Carberry has been included in the Test squad.

National Selector Geoff Miller said, “Andrew Strauss has provided outstanding leadership for the team in both forms of the game over the past 12 months and the selectors feel it is important that he takes a break ahead of an extremely busy programme of international cricket leading up to and including the Ashes series in Australia and the ICC Cricket World Cup in 2011. Strauss is the only frontline Test batsman to miss the trip. We want to try and keep this unit together as much as possible. One or two batters didn’t perform as well as they might have done in South Africa, but captaincy is a mental battle and we want Strauss to come back refreshed for the summer. He’s had an arduous time, the selectors feel he needs a break, and this is an opportunity.”

“Our decision to appoint Alastair Cook to the Test vice-captaincy last year clearly demonstrated the belief that he has the potential to be a future England captain. Alastair will now have an opportunity to develop his leadership skills still further by leading the side in both forms of cricket in Bangladesh and I know that he is excited by the challenge and looking forward to working closely with Andy Flower. He’s played over 50 Tests now,” added Miller. “So it’s not just a matter of thinking about the present time or the immediate future. It’s a matter of thinking of the far future as well. He was given the vice-captaincy and we want to see how he performs with the onus of captaincy as well. It will be a difficult test, it always is with the captaincy because he’s got to work on his batting too, but he’ll get the opportunity to do that.”

Paul Collingwood has once again been retained as skipper of the T20 side. “Paul Collingwood had an excellent tour of South Africa in all forms of cricket,” said Miller. “And he will continue to lead the side in the T20 format with the two T20 Internationals against the current World champions Pakistan providing excellent preparation for us ahead of the World T20 in the Caribbean. ”

Test squad: Alastair Cook (Essex, captain), Ian Bell (Warwickshire), Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire), Michael Carberry (Hampshire), Paul Collingwood (Durham), Steven Davies (Surrey), Graham Onions (Durham), Kevin Pietersen (Hampshire), Liam Plunkett (Durham), Matt Prior (Sussex, wk), Ajmal Shahzad (Yorkshire), Ryan Sidebottom (Nottinghamshire), Graeme Swann (Nottinghamshire), James Tredwell (Kent), Jonathan Trott (Warwickshire), Luke Wright (Sussex)

One-day squad: Alastair Cook (Essex, capt), Tim Bresnan (Yorkshire), Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire), Paul Collingwood (Durham), Joe Denly (Kent), Eoin Morgan (Middlesex), Matt Prior (Sussex, wk), Kevin Pietersen (Hampshire), Liam Plunkett (Durham), Ryan Sidebottom (Nottinghamshire), Ajmal Shahzad (Yorkshire), Graeme Swann (Nottinghamshire), James Tredwell (Kent), Jonathan Trott (Warwickshire), Luke Wright (Sussex)

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