England captain Andrew Strauss has reiterated his intent of not getting involved in Twenty20 cricket. Strauss had opted to stand down from England's Twenty20 squad earlier this year because the format didn't suit his accumulative style and he has said he has no plans to revisit his stance.
"Never say never. But at this stage, I've got no plans to play Twenty20 cricket," he was quoted as saying by PA Sport. "My reasons for not playing Twenty20 cricket are firstly that there are some limitations in my game in that format and secondly I believe strongly that for me to continue playing well in the 50-over format and Test cricket something's got to give.
"You've got to remain reasonably fresh as an international captain, to be able to motivate people. For me, it just makes sense that I step aside from the Twenty20 and give myself the time to prepare properly for 50-over and Test cricket."
Strauss opted to keep a low profile during the Twenty20 series against South Africa, even as England were hit by key injury blows, but showed he was unaffected by his break from the action by contributing a vital half-century in the 50-over win over South Africa A. Strauss did not deny rumours that he had been almost forced into stepping back into the Twenty20 set-up last week but felt his solidity was more suited to longer periods.
"There were some considerations given. But ultimately, me playing in a one-off capacity is not going to help the team long term," he said. "I'm not going to be there in the West Indies [at the 2010 World Twenty20] - so if there are injuries there, or 'Colly' [captain Paul Collingwood] gets injured, someone needs to step up and take over."
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