Andrew John Strauss MBE, (born 2 March 1977 in Johannesburg, South Africa) is an English cricketer who plays county cricket for Middlesex County Cricket Club and international cricket for England. A fluent left-handed opening batsman, Strauss has the ability to accumulate runs without playing big shots, in which respect he has been likened to Graham Thorpe.[1] Also, his technique and more specifically his footwork has been compared to that of the Australian opening batsman Justin Langer, who captained Strauss at Middlesex. Strauss favours scoring off the back foot, mostly playing cut and pull shots. Strauss is also known for his excellent fielding either at slip or in the covers. He made his First-class debut in 1998, and made his One Day International (ODI) debut in Sri Lanka in 2003. He quickly rose to fame on his Test match debut replacing the injured Michael Vaughan at Lords against New Zealand in 2004.[2] He became only the fourth batsman to score a century at Lord\'s on his deb... more