England cricket team series. However, this status only lasted a year – having lost 3–0 to Pakistan over the winter, England were beaten 2–0 by South Africa, who replaced them at the top of the rankings. It was their first home series loss since 2008, against the same opposition. This loss saw the resignation of Strauss as captain (and his retirement from cricket). His replacement, Alastair Cook, who was already in charge of the ODI side, led England to a 2–1 victory in India – their first in the country since 1984–85. In doing so, Cook became the first ever captain to score
Tony Greig 158. The incident was controversial – some believing it a black stain on his character, others prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt. For his part, Greig claimed that his actions were not premeditated, that his back was to the play and he was unaware that proceedings were over. If his actions had been premeditated, they would have been rather reckless given the risk of stirring up the notoriously volatile Trinidadian crowd. England convincingly lost the Test and Greig failed with bat and ball. It was a measure of his resolve and determination as a cricketer that he