Smith surprised by Strauss absence by CricketArchive Staff Reporter

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Player:	AJ Strauss, GC Smith
Event:	England in South Africa 2009/10

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DateLine: 13th November 2009

 

Graeme Smith has stopped short of calling England a weaker team without Andrew Strauss in the line-up for two T20 internationals. Strauss no longer plays cricket's shortest format at the highest level meaning he is on a one-week break during his country's two-and-a-half-month tour to South Africa.

 

Paul Collingwood is set to lead the team at the Wanderers and then Centurion on Sunday and with both sides looking to land the first blow, the Proteas skipper is keen to see how the visitors cope without their main opener.

 

"He must have his own reasons," Smith said. "Looking at it from a team's perspective, he's obviously playing well and scoring runs.

 

"He started the tour games and has gone well in the warm-up games. He's a new captain and I guess he'd want to stamp his mark and sort of get his personality on the environment.

 

"So him stepping away for a week, I don't know. One thing it does do is it probably keeps him fresh throughout the tour.

 

"It's something I guess the England team will have to cope with. It's an interesting dynamic and I don't know how it's going to affect them."