London, Aug 31: Former Test captain Sir Ian Botham has saluted Andrew Strauss for his contribution to the England team, saying that he can leave the game with his head held high and with a sense of satisfaction that he has given it everything he could.
Strauss first captained England when he stood in for the injured Michael Vaughan in 2006 and led the team in 50 Tests winning 25, and the peak of his career was the 3-1 series win in Australia, England's first Ashes away win since 1986-87.
"You can't ask for any more from a player and for the years he has entertained us and fought tooth and nail for the England cause we can only say thank you. And above all we say thank you for giving those Aussies a bloody nose on three separate occasions," Botham wrote in his column for the Daily Mirror.
He said Staruss played his full part in the 2005 Ashes triumph, scoring two hundreds, and termed it to be one of the greatest series of Test cricket.
"All 12 of the men who played for England during that summer have something so special to look back on that will make all their careers seem worthwhile. But Strauss got much more than that.
"His captaincy of the side in 2009 was a stunning performance of grit and determination when Australia probably thought they should have won, especially after the match in Cardiff. I thought he out-foxed them brilliantly in a tight tense encounter.
"And then the big one. The tour Down Under that really was the culmination of a life's work. To go down there and triumph so spectacularly made us all proud to be English and he takes the deserved plaudits for that too."
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