118 Quotes by Andrew Strauss

I had to stop being a student idiot and become more sensible and organised and that definitely improved my batting. I also reacted far more quickly to situations in Test cricket because I'd been a county captain. It made a huge difference.

The way you speak to a team is very important - both before a Test and during the game itself. If you try and do things on the run then people will quickly see through you. You're also never going to say anything that profound and so it's important to come up with new angles.

The only thing I'd say about Darrell Hair is that he is a very good umpire. He's very firm and he obviously sticks to his guns. I wouldn't have any qualms about him coming back into Test cricket.

When I came back into the side in 2009 I had to play more aggressively, and did. But I should never have played 127 times for England in one day cricket.

I'm most proud of a couple of things. Firstly what we managed to do with the team from 2009 to get them to win the Ashes in Australia. That was remarkable. And secondly moving England forward in white-ball cricket because that is where the game is going and we need to be at the vanguard.

Until you go through a bereavement, you don't know how you will cope. What we have found out is that life is completely different. The foundations that you have been building all your life are knocked down.

T20 has become a longer and longer format of the game. It is more than four hours in a lot of parts of the world.

After time away it always makes you realise how special it is to play for England and what an honour it is.

I can understand the argument that the captain should always be there to lead from the front.