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| Alastair Cook says the answer to England’s bad run is good cricket | Alastair Cook says the answer to England’s bad run is good cricket |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| Like everyone else Alastair Cook is getting a bit fed up with all the talk of a fresh start, a new era and the evolution of “his” team. Too much of that adds to the pressure and, as he was keen to point out as he looked ahead to Thursday’s one-day international at The Oval against Sri Lanka, there is always pressure as an England cricketer. | |
| “Every time you go out to play for England it’s incredibly important. That never changes. I don’t feel any extra pressure now. I don’t feel any different. I’ll be just as nervous as before any other game,” he said. | “Every time you go out to play for England it’s incredibly important. That never changes. I don’t feel any extra pressure now. I don’t feel any different. I’ll be just as nervous as before any other game,” he said. |
| Cook is not impervious to all the flak that has been flying after England’s appalling winter and no doubt he understands why it might be assumed that this summer presents a more demanding challenge to him than in the past. It has not gone well recently and he is the captain. Cook has taken some tough decisions, whether ostracising Kevin Pietersen or Graham Gooch, and there is division among England’s supporters which is often surprisingly visceral. | Cook is not impervious to all the flak that has been flying after England’s appalling winter and no doubt he understands why it might be assumed that this summer presents a more demanding challenge to him than in the past. It has not gone well recently and he is the captain. Cook has taken some tough decisions, whether ostracising Kevin Pietersen or Graham Gooch, and there is division among England’s supporters which is often surprisingly visceral. |
| Cook has wisely sought to insulate himself from some of the criticism that comes his way – though he does remember being called a “donkey” when appointed one-day captain. “I deliberately avoid the social media,” he said. “I’m not on Twitter or Facebook. I’d much rather speak to people directly than push keys on a keypad. It may be different on social media but in my experience the goodwill is still there when I’m face to face with England followers.” | Cook has wisely sought to insulate himself from some of the criticism that comes his way – though he does remember being called a “donkey” when appointed one-day captain. “I deliberately avoid the social media,” he said. “I’m not on Twitter or Facebook. I’d much rather speak to people directly than push keys on a keypad. It may be different on social media but in my experience the goodwill is still there when I’m face to face with England followers.” |
| He has never been as naive as he looks. He explained how he came to recognise that it was not quite as simple as he imagined when he took over the captaincy in 50-over cricket. “I remember in 2011 saying I want this four years to build up and, come the World Cup, we’ll have a settled side leading into it. I’d hoped to have eight or nine months where it would be settled. That was the theory but I probably wasn’t living in the real world because a lot can happen in four years as we’ve seen. Of course, it would be ideal if everything was settled and everyone knew their role. But we don’t know the 13 or 14 we’ll take out there.” He then suggested any borderline decision now might be affected by what the thinktank believes might be relevant in Australasia in nine months’ time. | He has never been as naive as he looks. He explained how he came to recognise that it was not quite as simple as he imagined when he took over the captaincy in 50-over cricket. “I remember in 2011 saying I want this four years to build up and, come the World Cup, we’ll have a settled side leading into it. I’d hoped to have eight or nine months where it would be settled. That was the theory but I probably wasn’t living in the real world because a lot can happen in four years as we’ve seen. Of course, it would be ideal if everything was settled and everyone knew their role. But we don’t know the 13 or 14 we’ll take out there.” He then suggested any borderline decision now might be affected by what the thinktank believes might be relevant in Australasia in nine months’ time. |
| For the moment his mind is on The Oval and Sri Lanka, and Cook admitted that England losing the Twenty20 match on Tuesday evening does not help preparations. “Any time you win is good. But credit to Sri Lanka – they played very well and we couldn’t quite get over the line. At the crucial moments we didn’t quite get our skills right – whether it was with the ball, bat or fielding. | For the moment his mind is on The Oval and Sri Lanka, and Cook admitted that England losing the Twenty20 match on Tuesday evening does not help preparations. “Any time you win is good. But credit to Sri Lanka – they played very well and we couldn’t quite get over the line. At the crucial moments we didn’t quite get our skills right – whether it was with the ball, bat or fielding. |
| “For 85%, probably 90%, of that game we played really well. Maybe it’s the habit of not winning many games of cricket recently. These are games which – when you’re flying, as Sri Lanka are as world champions – you find a way of winning.” | “For 85%, probably 90%, of that game we played really well. Maybe it’s the habit of not winning many games of cricket recently. These are games which – when you’re flying, as Sri Lanka are as world champions – you find a way of winning.” |
| Cook was only an interested spectator on Tuesday. Now he acknowledged that he expected to reunite with Ian Bell at the top of the order in the longer format. This is as anticipated since Bell has scored freely there since his elevation. This suggests that Michael Carberry, a surprise selection for these one-day squads, will not be playing since he is regarded as a specialist opener. | Cook was only an interested spectator on Tuesday. Now he acknowledged that he expected to reunite with Ian Bell at the top of the order in the longer format. This is as anticipated since Bell has scored freely there since his elevation. This suggests that Michael Carberry, a surprise selection for these one-day squads, will not be playing since he is regarded as a specialist opener. |
| The batsman Gary Ballance and opening bowler Jimmy Anderson are the others who were not in the T20 squad and both can be expected to play on Thursday. Anderson will be joined by two out of Chris Jordan, Tim Bresnan, Chris Woakes and Harry Gurney in the pace department – not a straightforward choice. | The batsman Gary Ballance and opening bowler Jimmy Anderson are the others who were not in the T20 squad and both can be expected to play on Thursday. Anderson will be joined by two out of Chris Jordan, Tim Bresnan, Chris Woakes and Harry Gurney in the pace department – not a straightforward choice. |
| The Sri Lankan squad changes more significantly since Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara return, which tends to strengthen their line-up – or indeed any line-up. Cook recognises the quality of his opposition. | The Sri Lankan squad changes more significantly since Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara return, which tends to strengthen their line-up – or indeed any line-up. Cook recognises the quality of his opposition. |
| “No one’s got a divine right to win a game of cricket. Sri Lanka are an incredibly dangerous side so we’ve got to play some good aggressive cricket and, when it comes to the crunch, nail our skills. We are going to leave it all out there and we are desperate for a good performance. But that doesn’t guarantee anything. All that stuff about the fresh start may be brilliant but now it’s all down to playing some good cricket.” | “No one’s got a divine right to win a game of cricket. Sri Lanka are an incredibly dangerous side so we’ve got to play some good aggressive cricket and, when it comes to the crunch, nail our skills. We are going to leave it all out there and we are desperate for a good performance. But that doesn’t guarantee anything. All that stuff about the fresh start may be brilliant but now it’s all down to playing some good cricket.” |