Andrew John Strauss, a former captain of England and the man credited with preparing the blueprint for England’s astonishing progress in ODIs, has insisted “90 per cent” of the praise must go to the players.

Interacting briefly with The Telegraph at Lord’s, on Sunday evening, Strauss said: “Look, changes had to be made as the way we’d been playing (till the 2015 World Cup) wasn’t working...

“A lot of things were put together...

“It’s nice to be complimented, but 90 per cent of the appreciation has to go to captain Eoin Morgan and the rest of the players...

“They’re the ones who execute out in the middle.”

Asked what was at the heart of England’s dramatically changed approach, Strauss replied: “You don’t look to win a World Cup by not wanting to lose. You do so by playing to win. Intent, in other words.”

Some hours after our interaction, England won the World Cup for the first time. So, more praise is headed the modest Strauss’s way.

Strauss drew up the game-changing blueprint in his capacity as the England & Wales Cricket Board’s all-powerful director of cricket.

The position was held by Strauss from May 2015 till October 2018. He relinquished it only in the end-stage of wife Ruth’s life-taking illness.

Ruth passed away last December.

Strauss, by the way, was at Lord’s with his children — Luca and Sam.