Cricket: Strauss’s departure provides an opening for Root

The common denominator was Kevin Pietersen, to whom controversy gravitates like a moth to a flame.

When Strauss took charge in 2009, English cricket was reeling from Pietersen’s fallout with Peter Moores.

Pietersen had been sacked as captain and Moores as head coach following what was termed an “irretrievable breakdown”.

Strauss, to whom many felt the captaincy should have gone prior to Pietersen, was perceived as a comfortable pair of hands.

In company with Andy Flower, the new team director, he was charged with the task of repairing the damage.

Last year, thanks in no small part to their fine efforts, England had risen to the status of No 1 Test team.

Now, less than a fortnight after they lost that mantle to South Africa, and with the problematic Pietersen once more in the dog house, Strauss has chosen to fall on his sword.

It is the right decision, made at the right time for the right reasons and one which reflects admirably on the admirable Strauss.

To paraphrase Shakespeare, nothing becomes a man like the manner of his leaving, and Strauss was typically dignified and distinguished as he made his exit yesterday during a press conference at Lord’s.

Strauss, 35, made clear his decision had nothing to do with the Pietersen brouhaha, with the player having lost his place amid allegations he sent derogatory text messages about Strauss to the South African players, along with general matters of discipline and dissension.

It may have been the straw that broke the camel’s back, the tipping point that persuaded Strauss over the edge, but, crucially, it was Strauss’s declining form and the loss of that No 1 status that effectively made the decision for him.

Scores of 0, 27, 37, 22, 20 and 1 in the Test series against South Africa might, to some extent, have been the result of a Pietersen-inspired scrambled brain, but advancing years had taken their toll and Strauss had averaged only 31 in Tests since the start of 2011.

Apart from a fine series against the West Indies at the start of this summer, when he made back-to-back centuries at Lord’s and Trent Bridge, Strauss’s record had grown steadily shaky.

He did not want his form to become a product of endless speculation and an unwanted distraction ahead of back-to-back Ashes series against Australia next year.

Moreover, unlike Michael Vaughan, who made a lachrymose exit as England captain in 2008, Strauss opted to quit all forms of the game with immediate effect.

Vaughan chose to play-on for Yorkshire before bowing to the inevitable midway through the following season, and probably wishes he had opted not to linger.

After working out how to resolve the Pietersen affair, which rumbles on interminably, England must decide who is to replace Strauss as an opener in the Test side.

There would appear to be a paucity of viable candidates, although Yorkshire’s Joe Root is an obvious contender.

At 21, Root is very much a new kid on the block and someone still making his way in the game, but, as the old saying goes, if you are good enough, you are old enough.

The Sheffield-born player certainly comes across as being up to the task and a man who could potentially grow into the role.

With a first-class average of around 40 and a healthy strike-rate, Root’s statistics are most encouraging.

But it is not so much the weight of his runs as the manner of their accumulation that suggests he could shine at the highest level.

The cool right-hander has already played some notable innings for England Lions and is highly regarded by the national selectors.

His front-foot driving has drawn comparison with Vaughan, while his temperament appears to be perfectly sound.

A tour of India this winter would undoubtedly represent a difficult challenge but every player has got to start somewhere.

And with Jonny Bairstow having broken into the Test team earlier this summer, his county colleague will be itching to follow suit.

That, however, is a matter for the future.

Yesterday was all about Strauss and the departure from office of one of England’s most impressive and popular captains.

Strauss led the side with calm authority – a quality which underpinned his no-nonsense batting – and enjoyed an overwhelmingly successful career.

The highlights were many and memorable: the century on Test debut at Lord’s, the retrieval of the Ashes in England in 2009, the retaining of the urn in Australia in 2011, to name but three.

But, above all, Strauss was a jolly good cricketer and a jolly fine fellow – and no sportsman could wish for a better epitaph.