Andrew Strauss is adamant he has no qualms about being left out of hosts England's squad for the upcoming World Twenty20, even though he's the captain of his country's Test and one-day teams.Strauss, best known as a steady opening batsman, showed he could score briskly by making an unbeaten 79 in 61 balls in an innings cut to 20 overs during England's recent win in the fourth one-day international against the West Indies.
But the Middlesex left-hander is not the kind of forceful hitter who tends to excel in international cricket's shortest format, a point Strauss himself made on Tuesday.
"Hopefully that innings proved there is more to my game than being a stodgy Test opener and why I feel I can keep doing a good job in 50-over cricket.
"But in Twenty20 you need the power player and that is not necessarily a strength of mine," Strauss said. "I felt quite strongly that whoever captains any team should be worth their place in the side."
It is less than a year ago since the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) made it clear that a key factor in the appointment of Kevin Pietersen as captain was the need to have one England skipper across all forms of the game.
But Pietersen's fall from grace following a falling-out with Peter Moores that cost the now Lancashire boss his position as England coach, prompted a re-think.
Strauss himself said he had no worries his standing might be diminished as a result of his Twenty20 absence.
"I was appointed captain of the West Indies tour with the proviso that both the 50-over and Twenty20 would be revisited at the end of the tour and I was happy with that," said Strauss.
"I think I have proved I am capable of playing 50-over cricket but it would be wrong for me to say I want to be Twenty20 captain so I am captain in all forms of the game.
"It is right to look at them separately. I have no problem handing over the reins to someone else. I think England can do well.
"Whoever gets the appointment has a blank canvas to work from and some very talented players."
Paul Collingwood, Andrew Flintoff and Pietersen have all led England in various forms of the game in recent times but none of the trio are thought to be keen on captaining in the World Twenty20, which starts in June.
Kent captain Robert Key, a former England batsman, has been touted as the man to skipper the team in the World Twenty20 even though it is four years since he last played international cricket.
But Strauss said the domestic one-day success Key had enjoyed could work to his advantage.
"I think the fact some of the county guys have played more than the international players helps them," he said.
"Twenty20 is a very different format of the game and accordingly you need to plan for that format and don't look past that when you come to decide the side.
"The rumours you hear on the county circuit is that Rob has done a pretty good job. He is a good operator and definitely one of the names on the list.
"KP (Pietersen) has to decide how keen he is to come back as captain. They (Flintoff, Pietersen and Collingwood) have all had issues doing the job which makes them more reluctant to do it in the future.
"That doesn't mean they definitely rule themselves out - but that is something we will have to ask them."
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