Cook emphatically silences his doubters
ANY victory brings pleasure to a captain, but when you play a leading role in determining the outcome of a match it’s doubly satisfying.
Alastair Cook will have discovered as much on Monday following a magnificent innings which underpinned England’s first international success of what has been a trying tour.
When the Essex left-hander was handed the captaincy last year many pundits, including my self, believed it was a shortsighted appointment that served only to complicate the riddle of bringing balance to England’s batting order.
I doubted whether Cook (right), a classically stoic Test opener, would be able to thrive in the one-day game but his 137, which came at just shy of a run a ball, in the first one-day international against Pakistan dispelled the theory that he’s a one dimensional player – it was very much a coming of age innings.
At a time when English morale was as low as it has been for quite some time Cook delivered something very special in Abu Dhabi which has brought him the sort of breathing space some of the other illustrious members of England’s top order must be craving.
It’s difficult to comprehend an England side being stronger for the absence of Kevin Pietersen and, to a certain extent, Jonathan Trott but runs are the currency by which all batsmen are judged and with Jos Buttler cash rich in that respect, England’s South-African born star names appear to be on borrowed time.
By contrast, one man whose name should be on the team sheet in indelible ink is Steven Finn. The young paceman, superb in India last October, took four wickets and was a real threat.
It appears to me that he’s being deliberately held back from the Test team due to concerns over his durability. At just 22, however, he’s got plenty of time to add that string to his bow and once he has he’ll be a Test regular for years to come.
Andy Lloyd is a former England Test cricketer who made 17,211 first-class career runs.