By IANS,
London : Former Australian cricket captain Steve Waugh feels that Andrew Strauss is the right man to lead England.
Strauss was appointed the England captain Thursday after Kevin Pietersen stepped down following a public fallout with coach Peter Moores.
Waugh, a member of the Laureus World Sports Academy, felt it was a shame that both Pietersen and Moores couldn’t resolve their problems and instead made them public.
“It’s a real shame that the captain and coach couldn’t work together and solve the problems. I mean Kevin had to resign from the captaincy and Moores has lost a coaching job, so no one’s a winner, and it really puts England one step further back than they’d like to be,” Waugh was quoted as saying on the website of Laureus Sports.
He said that newly appointed captain Strauss has a good temperament to carry England through troubled waters.
“He seems like he’s got a very good temperament, most importantly his game’s going very well. I think that’s important for a captain, that they’re in good form and they can hold their place on the side.
“He’s got experience, he’s captained before, I think he was definitely in line for the job beforehand and now he gets a chance, so I think he’s the type of guy that will make the most of the opportunity,” said Waugh.
Asked whether during his tenure he had any such problems with the coach, Waugh said: “You don’t have to like each other but you’ve got to respect each other. It’s not always going to be the case that your personalities are well suited, but you’ve got to learn to work together and sometimes put aside the little things that annoy you for the benefit of the bigger picture.”
Asked what he would have done if he was in a similar situation, Waugh said: “We had differences of opinion many times as coach and captain, but that’s what it’s supposed to be. If you’re a coach and a captain and you agree on everything, then something’s wrong because you want people with strong ideas and strong personalities to lead.
“A bit of give and take and a bit of compromise here and there and obviously one of those two weren’t willing to do that, so yes, I’m sure I would have done things differently.”