Andrew Strauss and his England team enjoyed a glorious, historic and trophy-grabbing 2011.
One of those trophies is just 4½ inches tall, 130 years old, made of clay and so fragile it cannot be moved from its home at Lord’s. Another is four feet long, brand new and a gaudy lump of metal that the players happily tossed around the outfield at The Oval.
The little urn and the International Cricket Council mace were reward for England scaling the twin peaks of winning the Ashes in Australia and becoming the No 1 Test team on the planet.
Okay, England had a rubbish World Cup and lost away one-day series to Australia 5-1 and India 5-0. But, hey, who cares when the past 12 months contained such successes.
It was England’s first Ashes victory on Australian soil for 24 years and the 4-0 home hammering of India ensured it would be the first time they have reached the No 1 position since the official Test rankings began. There is no question England are the world’s best five-day team.
Of their rivals, the Australians are in a period of transition, South Africa are perennial chokers and India struggle when they have to play away from home. The side’s secrets are a massively respected captain in Strauss, a thorough and inspirational coach in Andy Flower, unbendable team spirit and a cluster of players whose confidence has soared in the brilliant atmosphere around the dressing room.
Four of England’s eight Test wins in 2011 were by an innings and they now have nine innings victories since December 2009. Their batsmen piled up four double centuries to follow three 200-plus knocks in 2010.
England’s massive 710-7 declared against India, to which Alastair Cook contributed 294, was their highest total since 1938. They are ruthless, hungry and totally dominant.
Strauss said: “It was a marvellous year, a credit to the players and management team. But we won’t rest on our laurels. We want to get better and stronger in 2012.”
Strauss is one of three captains. Alastair Cook has the 50-over job and his batting became more aggressive with the responsibility. Stuart Broad is the official leader of the Twenty20 side, though injury meant he has done the job just once.
The quick-witted Graeme Swann might be a better choice than either of them in the shorter formats. Strauss is the man everyone regards as the main captain, yet he did not manage a Test century during 2011.
He wants to stay in charge for England’s next two Ashes series — at home in 2013 and Down Under in 2013-14. Last year also saw three Pakistan cricketers — Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir — jailed for their part in the notorious spot-fixing scandal.
Their crime was committed in front of 25,000 people at Lord’s and on live TV. Can you imagine it? Zimbabwe returned to Test cricket after six years and the lack of consistency in the use of the Umpire Decision Review System has become farcical. India do not want it and, as they have most of the power and money, nobody can force them to take part.
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