England chief Strauss to step down for summer

England cricket director Andrew Strauss is to stand down temporarily for the season while his wife Ruth continues her treatment for cancer, with Andy Flower filling in while the former Test captain is on leave.

"My wife was diagnosed with cancer in December," Strauss told reporters at Lord's on Tuesday.

"We are very lucky she has been very well up to now although she is starting a new treatment on Friday which is going to be more challenging for her and as such I am going to be stepping back from my day-to-day duties while that treatment is going on."
He added: "On a day-to-day basis Andy Flower is going to be stepping in for me over the course of the (English) summer."
"I look forward to returning and grabbing the reins again but at this period of time my focus has to be on supporting Ruth and my family at a challenging time for us."
"They will be compiling reports on players of interest to us," said Strauss. "Ed Smith will be appointing his own England selector to help him select the team over the course of the summer as well."
- Curfew remains -
==================
"We are a high performance environment and guys being professional about how they prepare for games is not something that should be frowned upon, it should be expected of players."