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 Cup in England in 1975, when his team was eliminated by Australia in the semi-final. Although suited to the one-day game, Greig never really produced a major performance in the 22 ODIs that he played for England. After the tournament ended, Australia stayed on to play four Ashes Tests. England lost the first match at Edgbaston, and blame fell on the captain Mike Denness, who had just endured a 1–4 defeat in Australia. Denness was sacked and Greig appointed, to high expectation that he would play aggressively and fearlessly in an endeavour to counteract the Australians' strengths. The transformation was