Former England captain Andrew Strauss' wife passes away after losing battle to cancer

Former English skipper Andrew Strauss' wife Ruth Strauss passed away on Saturday at the age of 46 after losing battle to lung cancer. 

Strauss, who was the Director of England Cricket for three and a half years, stepped down from the position in December 2017 when Ruth was diagnosed with the disease.

She is survived by her husband and two children.

“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,” Strauss said in a statement.

“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," Strauss added.