Former England cricket captain Andrew Strauss has spoken for the first time about how he and his young sons are coping with the death of his wife Ruth just three months ago.
The 42-year-old cricketer said while it was still ‘early days’ for himself and Sam, 13, and Luca, ten, their grief was being helped by the ‘amazing’ final year spent with Ruth.
Diagnosed with a rare form of lung cancer in December 2017, Ruth died at the age of 46 in the final days of 2018.
Her death sparked an outpouring of support and tributes from celebrities and stars of the cricket world.
Speaking ahead of Mother’s Day, England cricket star Andrew Strauss, 42, revealed that he had spent an ‘amazing’ year with his wife Ruth, who died in December at the age of 46 after battling a rare form of lung cancer, before her death, calling it ‘probably the best year of our marriage’
‘Doing great’: Andrew said although it was ‘early days’ for the couple’s sons (pictured as young children in 2009 after England won the Ashes) he said he wanted to ‘build something good from going through something so terrible’
Andrew Strauss with wife Ruth before the start of the Virgin London Marathon 2013 Virgin London Marathon; the couple met in Sydney when he was 21 and she was 25 – Strauss praised Ruth as ‘brave’ for moving to the UK to start a life with him
Speaking on Mother’s Day, Strauss says he’s finding some comfort in the fact that the couple had ‘probably the best year of our marriage’ preceding his wife’s death and praised her for ‘accepting’ her illness and making the most of the time the family had left together.
The cricketer, interviewed by the Sunday Times, said: ‘I feel privileged to have had that time and had those conversations and how we just enjoyed being together.’
Strauss also revealed that Ruth, while still well enough, set up a charity to help others suffering from the rare ALK-positive non-small-cell lung cancer that claimed her life.
The doting mother even went shopping for 18th birthday presents for Sam and Luca.
Strauss met Ruth in Sydney in 1998, and the couple went on to marry five years later.
After captaining England to Ashes success over his wife’s home country in 2009, the Test star credited her for playing a major role in his success and said that it was ‘a very brave’ thing to move her life from Australia to be with him when his cricket career first took off.
‘Anyone who has met Ruth will know how loving, caring and passionately protective she was of her family,’ said Strauss in a statement after her death in December 2018
Ruth Strauss pictured outside Landmark Hotel in London in 2009 before her diagnosis
The cricketer stepped down from his position as director of cricket with the England and Wales Cricket Board in October in order to spend more time with her as she fought the condition.
In a statement following her death in December, he said: ‘It is with great sadness and immense grief that we have to announce that Ruth passed away today as a result of her rare lung cancer. Sam, Luca and I will miss her terribly.’
And added: ‘Anyone who has met Ruth will know how loving, caring and passionately protective she was of her family and it gives us huge comfort that she was in Australia, the land of her birth, surrounded by those who love her, in her final moments.
‘We would like to send our heartfelt thanks to those that have helped with her treatment over the last 12 months, in particular the wonderful team at University College Hospital in London.
‘Ruth desperately wanted to help those affected by this terrible disease and we will be launching a foundation in due course to raise much needed funds to aid research and also to offer support to patients and their families.’
In his latest interview, Strauss said his family continued to work to raise funds for cancer treatment and research under The Ruth Strauss Foundation.
Stars from the cricketing world have rallied around the former England captain following her death to share their condolences.
Kevin Pietersen, who famously fell out with Strauss over some text messages, paid tribute saying he was ‘absolutely gutted’ for the family.
He said: ‘Ruth was kind, generous and only thought about others. Jess and I have been thinking about them all eve and all morning. So sorry, Straussy.
‘It puts life into perspective in a big way.’
While Former England player Michael Vaughn added in a tweet: ‘Life just isn’t Fair… #RIPRuth’.
BBC cricket correspondent Jonathan Agnew also paid tribute, saying: ‘All our thoughts and prayers are with Andrew Strauss and his family. Rest in peace, Ruth.’