Andrew Strauss said it was a difficult decision to stand down from being the England one-day captain but believes following the recent Cricket World Cup, the time is right.

He will be replaced by his Test match opening partner Alastair Cook. Strauss said he decided to relinquish the one day captaincy knowing that it was not a process he could see through to the next World Cup.  He believes it was in the best interests of the England cricket team to stand down and appoint Alastair Cook at the same time as Stuart Broad was announced as the new Twenty20 Captain, taking over duties from Paul Collingwood.

Alastair Cook admitted he was inexperienced as a captain but said he was “really excited about the challenge.”

Stuart Broad was also excited at the prospect even though there is not a lot of Twenty20 games planned before the next World Cup and said all the more to “make use of every opportunity”.

Andy Flowers will remain as England Coach and work with all three captains.

Strauss will now concentrate on the England Test captaincy while working alongside Alastair Cook and Stuart Broad on an overall cricket strategy to progress England’s chances of success in all three competitions in the future.

2011 Cricket World Cup

Since the wonderful comeback by England to snatch the Group B game last Sunday from the fingertips of the SouthAfrican’s , the news coming out of the England camp has not been quite so uplifting.

Injuries sustained during the match in Chennai on Sunday have resulted in the loss of key players Kevin Pietersen and now Stuart Broad from the England squad.

Pietersen has already returned to England after it was discovered that his hernia problem might be worse than he had originally thought, he had struggled in the field against South Africa although he did manage a few overs bowling during the game.

He has already been replaced by Eoin Morgan in the England camp, he of course had been ruled out of the World Cup himself after breaking a finger in the One Day International series in Australia.

Morgan has taken less time to recover than anticipated and the big hitting Dublin born left hander will slip into the team  as the perfect replacement for the hapless KP.

Perversely Morgan played for Ireland in the last Cricket World Cup before defecting to England and was a key member of the England team that won the ICC World Twenty20 last year. He has a batting average of a fraction over 38 from his 61 one day internationals, in which he has scored four centuries and ten 50’s.

Stuart Broad is said to be suffering from a ’significant side strain’ which occurred  during Sunday’s game against South Africa and will return to England for further assessment this week. He is definitely ruled out of any further part in the 2011 World Cup but is hoping to be fit again for the Test match at Lords on May 26th against Sri Lanka.

Broad’s replacement in the squad is likely to be Chris Tremlett who is in South Asia standing by, but this has yet to be confirmed by the England team.

The 2011 World Cup has thrown up some interesting results so far, with no one team completely dominating the competition. For anyone interested in cricket betting the favourites to win this tournament are still India and Australia.

It might be a good time to check out the odds on some of the other teams including England, Pakistan, West Indies and South Africa if you are hoping to bank some money from your bet!

The 11 cricketers that played in the final Test Match against Pakistan at Lords are named, along with Sussex spin bowler Monty Panesar, Surrey fast bowler Chris Tremlett and wicket-keeper Steven Davies.

After returning from injury, the other two places are given to Warwickshire batsman Ian Bell and Yorkshire seam bowler Tim Bresnan.

Upcoming Yorkshire fast bowler, Ajmal Shahzad, was probably one of the most disappointed hopefuls after a good Test debut at Old Trafford earlier this year against Bangladesh.

Kent’s James Tredwell is included, along with Ajmal hahzad in a 16 man ‘Performance Squad’ who will also go to Australia during the winter as a back-up.

England Ashes Squad 2010

Andrew Strauss (captain, Middlesex), Alastair Cook (vice-captain, Essex), James Anderson (Lancashire), Ian Bell (Warwickshire), Tim Bresnan (Yorkshire), Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire), Paul Collingwood (Durham), Steven Davies (wk, Surrey), Steven Finn (Middlesex), Eoin Morgan (Middlesex), Monty Panesar (Sussex), Kevin Pietersen (Hampshire), Matt Prior (wk, Sussex), Graeme Swann (Nottinghamshire), Chris Tremlett (Surrey), Jonathan Trott (Warwickshire).

excellent bowling from stuart broad

Sadly I did not get to see any of the first days play at the fifth Ashes test, but at 308 for 8 it seems that England had not done too badly although only Ian Bell (72) and Andrew Strauss (55)  scored more than fifty runs. Flintoff was a huge disappointment with just seven, but Jonathan Trott made a bright start to his test career with 41.

Day two at the Oval and England soon fell to the Australian bowling, adding just 25 runs to the overnight total England were all out for 332.

It was then that the real action started, what looked as though it would be a painful day for England supporters as Australia built a first stand of 73 with no loss, turned into a brilliant display of wicket taking by the England team.

In a late starting afternoon session due to lunchtime rain, Stuart Broad and Graeme Swann were supreme. In a thirty odd over spell Australia collapsed from 73 for 0 to 160 all out.

In an unbelievable spell Broad’s figures were 5 for 37, and Swann 4 for 38. Flintoff taking the final wicket bowled 1 for 35.

What a day of mixed emotions for England cricket fans, the rollercoaster ride looks set to continue however as the wicket began to deteriorate during England’s second innings.

In the final 28 overs of the day Australia managed to skittle Cook, Bell and Collingwood with just 15 runs between them, However Strauss is once again on a respectable 32 not out and Trott is on 9.

England 332 and 58 for 3 Australia 160

Well, it seems that Stuart Broad is the man prepared to step up to the task. The Nottinghamshire seamer – who took four wickets during Saturday’s ODI win over the West Indies – has revealed that he ‘thrives on the extra responsibility’ he has been handed since Andrew Flintoff’s absence.

Stuart Broad has taken the new ball for England recently and he admits that this is something he enjoys doing very much. He says that it is a ‘fantastic opportunity’ to be responsible for setting the tone of the innings in the first ten overs or so.

This is, of course, something Stuart Broad and James Anderson did very well over the weekend. The West Indies were 46-3 after the first ten overs at Bristol with Stuart Broad taking two of the wickets.

England then went on to win the game comfortably and did so without the influence of injured duo Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen. This is a good sign for Andrew Strauss’ men. It shows that they can win matches without their star players.

Stuart Broad agrees that ‘it’s important you don’t rely on certain players’ and that ‘everyone needs to step up’ to the standard required to help England win more matches than they lose.

This is certainly something that Stuart Broad is doing right now. He is an integral part of this England team in every form and he is set to play a massive part in the future of English cricket.

In fact, if he keeps dealing with the extra responsibility so well and if he continues to bowl above 90mph, he could be the star of the summer for England, so bear this in mind when you place your 2009 ashes bet!

Stuart Broad was handed the new ball against the West Indies and managed to bowl at over 90mph regularly. With this extra yard of pace behind him, he believes that he can form a formidable opening partnership with James Anderson this summer.

Speaking about his progress as an international bowler, Stuart Broad said that he was keen to make the new ball spot alongside James Anderson ‘his own’ in the coming weeks.

As for the partnership with James Anderson, the 22-year-old says that they have played a ‘lot of cricket together now’ and this has led to them talking ‘about deliveries’ all of the time.

An example of such a situation occurred when Chris Gayle was driving Stuart Broad for four regularly at Lords. James Anderson then advised him to change his line of attack and this led to the dismissal of the West Indian captain.

As the Nottinghamshire all-rounder says, ‘communication is key in test cricket’ and it seems that England’s current new ball partnership understand this all too well.

Stuart Broad will obviously be keen to keep this going in the second test against the Windies which gets underway on Thursday at the Riverside. This will then stand England in good stead for when the Ashes come around in July and will undoubtedly make Ashes cricket betting very interesting indeed.

So what has changed? What is improving? Well, as I have touched on before, the bowling attack is settled and starting to perform consistently. The trio of Broad, Anderson and Sidebottom all had significant spells where they picked up wickets. The latter was relied upon too much in New Zealand and hopefully Anderson’s performance in the most recent test is a sign of things to come. There are some other factors though which have assisted in England’s ever improving performances.

The return of Andrew Strauss – This has been key. The 177 he scored in Napier signalled a return to form for the Middlesex man. Not only did he average 66.5 during the most recent series, but he managed to pick up the man of the series award. He has looked solid at the top of the order and has a safe pair of hands at first slip – which also helps.

Michael Vaughan’s form – The return of Strauss enabled the England captain to move to his more natural position of number three. After an excellent century in the first test at Lords, he has gone onto average 50 in the series. If anything, he will be annoyed at not recording another big score after making two or three solid starts. Still, a vast improvement to performances he put in during the New Zealand tour.

Kevin Pietersen of old – Ok, it was only one innings, but the century he recorded in the final test was a joy to watch. He played with freedom and confidence, something that has been lacking in recent months. Keep it up KP.

Stuart Broad – He just has something special about him doesn’t he? During this series, he has made the England number 8 slot his own. He ended up the fourth leading run scorer for the home side, making his maiden test fifty along the way. His bowling is coming on as well, although he could do with getting a few more wickets here and there. At just 21 years of age though, you would bet on Stuart Broad being around for a long, long time.

Despite these positive aspects of the recent series, there are still some pieces the jigsaw that need to be adjusted. Specifically, the pieces that Paul Collingwood and Ian Bell are currently occupying. Neither of them made a fifty in the series and will be looking at the one-day games as a chance to find some form. Otherwise, the current form of Ravi Bopara or the return of Andrew Flintoff could effect them.

For now though, things are looking better for Peter Moores and his England team and if you were to bet on the Ashes right now – you’d give them a chance. The attention now moves onto the one-day team, with the momentum created by the test team hopefully playing a part in a rare limited overs victory.