Ruth Strauss was an essential and reassuring presence, it would be fitting for the Lord's Test to be devoted to her

SIMON HUGHES pays tribute to the partner of one of England’s greats, who died early in the new year

What extraordinarily contrasting emotions England’s most successful post-war opening pair will have been experiencing over New Year.

While Alastair Cook was celebrating his knighthood, Andrew Strauss was mourning the tragic death of his wife, Ruth. It has been an unspeakably cruel few months for the Strauss family, with Andrew relinquishing his job as director of England cricket to look after Ruth and their two boys while seeking cures for her rare lung cancer.

They were quite optimistic a few months ago, despite the side-effects of her treatment, but the disease returned with a vengeance and just after Christmas she died in her Australian homeland surrounded by her family. She was just 46. 

It is often said that behind every successful man is a savvy woman and this was certainly the case with the Strausses. Though a gritty batsman, there was something slightly chaotic about Andrew when he set out on his path to be a professional cricketer and his progress stalled in his early 20s. Ruth, who he had met in the late 1990s playing club cricket in Sydney, slowly and systematically got him sorted.

She helped him find more discipline and focus. 

She moved to England and they got married. She was the opposite of the needy, trophy wife that can bring a good man down. She had her own life as a professional actress. She was multi-talented, dedicated and charismatic.

^{Ruth Strauss pictured with Andrew at Wimbledon in 2014}

I went to one of her performances - at a pub theatre in Islington - a one-woman show - Long Gone Lonesome Cowgirls (Andrew helped paint the set). She sang, danced, acted a multitude of roles, even sold tickets on the door at the start. She was outstanding, an inspiration. But soon after she unselfishly sacrificed her acting aspirations to be totally devoted to Andrew’s career and bringing up their two young sons. 

She was the alpha female at Test matches, but in a warm, inclusive rather than ostentatious way, organising hospitality boxes and childcare for players partners and families, ensuring everyone was looked after and provided for.

She was an essential and reassuring presence not least because her husband seemed to make most of his best scores when she was in attendance. She was a fantastic support to him dealing with the stresses of England captaincy, keeping him on an even keel.

His success as a leader was as much to do with her common sense and organisation as his tactics and man-management. She was his escape from the pressure of responsibility in both his key leadership roles. 

And now, despite a brave battle, she has been tragically taken from this world. There will be a charity set up in her name to raise money for research into her illness. It was poignant to see the universal support for the (Jane) McGrath cancer foundation at the Sydney Test a few days after Ruth Strauss’s death - the whole ground bathed in pink.

It would be fitting if a day of the Lord’s Test could be similarly devoted to the legacy and influence of a wonderful woman.

This article originally appeared in the February edition of The Cricketer, on sale now at all good newsagents

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