The chairman of England Cricket Board Andrew Strauss is set to step down from his role for the season due to personal reasons. In his absence, Andy Flower will take the helm of the board.

The reason why Strauss is taking a leave is to tend to his wife’s needs. She has been diagnosed with cancer and is now being treated for it. Strauss, who represented England in 100 Tests and scored 7037 runs, revealed that he will be off from his England duties during the process and is confident that Andy Flower will do a great job filling in for him.

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

"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."

"We all know about his qualities and his experience of both England and English cricket and he will fill in my shoes very adequately," said Strauss. "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."

We at Cricfrenzy hope and pray that Andrew Strauss’ wife makes a complete recovery from her illness.