Quotes from Andrew Strauss

I've definitely grown into the job after that difficult first Test against Pakistan. I'd been captain for the Sri Lanka one-dayers, which hadn't gone well, and all the talk was that I only had that one Test as captain.

Some really good players are coming out of county cricket. Better preparation, and looking after yourself physically are things that counties should still have to strive for. Also, the volume of county cricket is still far too high. I'd definitely like less county cricket.

It's incredible to watch how our cricket clubs depend on volunteers.

I loved captaining and trying to win games - but I wasn't enjoying batting any more.

The only two times we have peaked above world average is when we got to No. 1 in the world in 2011 and when we got to No. 2 in the world in 2004 under Michael Vaughan.

Cricket is not rocket science. Bowlers often get wickets through perseverance, accuracy and being patient rather than trying to blast opposition teams out.

Captaincy is a confidence game. When the team is winning and your decisions go well that breeds confidence.

I've always felt that, in the past, there has been a teacher-pupil relationship between the management and the players. But the best teams are run in such a way that the players have a voice.

No one has ever doubted Kevin Pietersen's abilities as a player, he has been a phenomenal player for England for a long period of time, his record stacks up to anyone's in English cricket and he should be very proud of his record.

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

But there are definitely times when I just need to write to clarify my thoughts and put any doubts to bed.

We all live in this little bubble that we just expect to live forever and I think those of us that have been with people battling cancer, you realise, actually, this surrounds us everywhere we go.

In the cricket world, with a lot of little issues that people are getting in a tizz around, I'm just like: Don't worry about it.

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 really believe that every game of international cricket should have some sort of meaning and some sort of context to it - so the World Test Championship, the World One-Day League are all really, really important opportunities to the game.

Some people get on better with some than others but what is absolutely crucial is that everyone knows their roles and responsibilities and trust that your team-mate is going to do their best for the team.

My biggest concern is that Test cricket and Twenty20 cricket are competing too much. They should be complementing each other and the more they clash the more damaging it will be for cricket.

Peter Moores has been very popular in the England dressing room. He's got a very good record of developing players, but I felt that there are some areas in international cricket where he is a little bit exposed, for me personally around tactics and strategy.

Peter Moores has been very popular in the England dressing room. He's got a very good record of developing players but I felt that in some areas of international cricket he is a little bit exposed, around tactics and strategy.

If you think about the practical difficulties of having a relationship with somebody on the other side of the world, it defies all logic.

We are a high-performance environment and guys being professional about how they prepare for games is not something that should be frowned upon. It should be expected of players.

We should be far more flexible about the way we play our cricket away from home. We can't just presume that what works at home will work away. We need to be more flexible and creative both in the way we play and the way we select.

I always thought we ought to recognise the blood, sweat and tears - and the sacrifices in being away from home - of former England players, and that current players should know what has come before.

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.