On this day in 2012, one of England's most successful captains Andrew Strauss stepped down as England Test captain and also retired from professional cricket.

Alastair Cook was immediately announced as Strauss' successor in the role.

Strauss was one of few England captains to win the Ashes both at home and abroad, having been chosen to lead England in 2009 after the ill-fated decision to appoint Kevin Pietersen to lead the country across all formats.

Within months of taking over, under Strauss England had regained the Ashes before keeping the urn in Australia during the 2010-11 series.

England also became the world's number one Test team for the first time since the rankings were introduced and he finished as the country's second-most successful captain with 24 wins from his 50 matches.

Strauss' decision came shortly after a stand-off with batsman Pietersen, after he had sent text messages to members of the South Africa team during their series.

Pietersen was dropped for the final Test of the series, after which Strauss called time on his England career.

In a statement made at the time, Strauss, who went on to become England's director of cricket, said: "I am extremely proud of everything I have achieved as a cricketer, and I have found myself very fortunate to play in an era when some of English cricket's greatest moments have occurred. I have loved every minute of it."

Cook took over and went on to become England's highest Test run-scorer and the fifth highest run-scorer in the format of all time.