|Tom Huelin is back and looks at the under pressure England skipper...
ECB, Please don't blindly
back our failing skipper.England are a rudderless ship and unless Captain Cook walks the plank – or is
thrown overboard – they are drifting towards a big storm at next year’s World
Cup.
![]() |
Cook....under pressure |
I'm
not normally one for hyperbole, but England's One-Day side is doomed for
failure Down Under if the ECB persist in backing Alastair Cook as captain in
the 50-over format.
I
like Cook. He seems like a thoroughly decent chap. I interviewed him once and
he was charming, courteous and polite.
But
decent chaps don't necessarily make good leaders. Michael Vaughan was the best
England skipper I can recall, but I don't see people queuing up to tell us how
wonderful his family is.
"That
dressing-room is very much his dressing-room," ECB Managing Director Paul
Downton told BBC Test Match Special of Cook on Monday. "He's the natural
leader of that group of players."
Why
do the ECB feel the need to constantly tell us how good Cook's leadership
credentials are? Do they think if they keep saying it, it might actually come
true?
The
point is, you shouldn’t pick 10 players and a captain for a team; you pick your
best XI and select a captain from there. The question shouldn't be, 'is
Cook a good ODI captain?' but 'is Cook a good ODI opener'?
![]() |
Downturn...right behind Cook |
If
he is a plausible pick as opener in the one-day team then the captaincy is his.
But as things stand, Cook is the least desirable batsman in the whole of the
preliminary, 30-man World Cup squad named by England last month. Rookies like Jason
Roy and James Vince would be a more desirable pick than the Essex opener.
Don't
forget, when Cook was made captain in 2011 after Andrew Strauss's resignation,
he wasn't even in the World Cup squad that fared so dismally in India and
Bangladesh. The ECB won’t admit this, but he was awarded the ODI captaincy to
develop his leadership skills before being named Test skipper.
There's
no doubting Cook's ability in Test cricket. He was made for the format; his
patience at the crease, his ability to cut and pull anything that strays either
side of the stumps, his ability to bat long. But ODI cricket is more aligned to
the t20 format nowadays, and I'm afraid traditional Test players like Cook are
going to struggle to keep up.
Peter
Moores has admitted that the performance of Cook, and that of the entire squad,
will be reviewed after this Sri Lanka series. But no one believes for a second that
those discussions will result in Cook being dropped, as he should, from this
side.
Joe
Root and Eoin Morgan are modern, innovative cricketers who thrive in
limited overs formats - they should lead what is an exciting group of
players into the 2015 World Cup, and beyond.
For
all the ECB's attempts to make the organisation appear more accessible and
light-hearted in the aftermath of the KP scandal - Joe Root can play the
ukulele, don't you know - the truth remains that there's about as much
transparency in Team England’s decision-making as there is in Downton's
rose-tinted spectacles when he tells supporters "It's time for people to
get excited again."
![]() |
Joe Root???? |
Supporters aren't stupid. Neither are they mean-spirited or vindictive (on the whole). This isn't a vendetta against Cook; we just want to see England play an exciting brand of attacking cricket. I can take not winning the World Cup, what I can't take is an administration blindly backing someone who clearly doesn't have the requisite skills for the format.
ECB may attest that Cook's leadership is so good, but I would counter that with just one question. If Cook is such a good leader, why has his best player been cast aside?
Transparency
isn't publishing videos of Moeen Ali completing a whimsical Q&A ("Tom
& Jerry, innit.") It's about making honest decisions in the best
interests of the game. Downton saying that Cook will make runs at some point in
the future because, well, the law of averages says he has to? I'm sorry, but if
we are reverting to a 'hoping for the best' approach to the World Cup already, then
we really are doomed.
England
have an exciting collection of players right now: Moeen, Root, Finn, Taylor,
Hales, and Buttler for starters. Add to that the likes of Vince, Roy and
Billings coming through the Lions and Performance Programme, and the future is
bright.
And
so it is with an eye firmly on the future that I ask the ECB, Please don't
blindly back our failing skipper. Pick your best XI, your best squad of
players, and from there pick your captain.
Then
your fans will back you, because ultimately we all want to see England do
well.
If
Cook goes to Australia as captain, I fear England will be a rudderless ship
careering uncontrollably towards a big storm. The sad thing is, while it’s not
too late for the ECB to do something about it, it’s unthinkable that they will.
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