Cricket-Match-Special ... A forum for discussion

Quite a few people seem surprised - can't say I'm that surprised myself.

Ironic that the only mention of this in the International cricket area has been on the KP thread!

Also ironic that the win over india in Inida in 2012 is being hailed as Cooks greatest moment, and KP was absolutely key to that win!

So, how will you all remember his reign?

and how many runs will he still go on to get?

There's some reaction on the Will Cook Go poll thread.

Hard to guess how long he'll go on, as it depends on how successful he is. Without his determination he won't be the same player, so if his ambition wavers, he could be gone quickly. Also, while still functional, he's a long way past his best days. If I had to guess, after the away Ashes. But of course he could be around for another five years.

Not overly surprised.

It's been a tricky time to be captain, and he's probably not a natural leader. But when you consider how England were thumped in 2009 and 2016 in India, the 2012 win, plus two Ashes wins, were fantastic achievements for him as captain.

I never thought the ECB handled KP well, and Cook must have had a hand in that, but what's done is done.

As for going on - as long as he wants. He's still only 32 for crying outloud. He could easily go for another 2-3 years, and possibly longer. At the very least he'll continue until Ashes this year. I reckon he'll continue until the 2019 home Ashes and call it a day then.

the issue for me about how long he will play on as just a batsman will be how well he transitions between being captain to just being a pleb. from his actions over the last couple of years i am not sure how comfortable he will be playing under another captain. i hope i am wrong as we need cook the batsman in good form.

Obviously, a remarkable high in India. His two Ashes wins weren't the most memorable. The first hardly ever broke into moments of excitement and the second was engulfed by controversies over partial pitch preparation. The win in SA was unexpected and promised a resurgence which has now faltered. In all of these latter three series, Cook offered little with the bat. Only the win in India can hope to balance the awfulness of the 5-0 loss in Australia and the aftermath, but doesn't come all that close.

He wasn't served best by the ECB's promotion of him and the cosseting of a sycophantic press which alienated many. Not all of that was his fault. But I do hold him responsible for the poor sportsmanship and relationships with opposition that has spoiled the experience of watching England over the past few years. It has been like watching Ponting's Australia but without the (almost) endless success. His PR has been a disaster.

Many will feel these last points are irrelevant and it's results on the pitch that count. But for this long term England supporter, they've been too hard to like under Cook. And results have only been average overall (since he took over from Strauss full time, wins and losses have been equal). The team he captained and hands over to Root, still hasn't recovered from the absolute zero of Sydney, 2014.

rich1uk wrote:the issue for me about how long he will play on as just a batsman will be how well he transitions between being captain to just being a pleb. from his actions over the last couple of years i am not sure how comfortable he will be playing under another captain. i hope i am wrong as we need cook the batsman in good form.

I think so. He appears to have a strong sense of entitlement (consider how badly he's responded to criticism, how unwilling he was to reflect on his inappropriateness as ODI skipper). But many others have joined the ranks before him and they had big egos too. The relief from responsibility and scrutiny might give him a little boost for a while.

Some of the press cook is getting is quite funny to read.

I think Cook will be fine just slotting in as a player. He has said for a while that he is looking forward to just opening the batting, and standing at first slip, offering advice if need be... the guy's a professional he will be fine

Arthur Crabtree wrote:Obviously, a remarkable high in India. His two Ashes wins weren't the most memorable. The first hardly ever broke into moments of excitement and the second was engulfed by controversies over partial pitch preparation. The win in SA was unexpected and promised a resurgence which has now faltered. In all of these latter three series, Cook offered little with the bat. Only the win in India can hope to balance the awfulness of the 5-0 loss in Australia and the aftermath, but doesn't come all that close.

I disagree. The 2013 series wasn't great and was overshadowed by the drubbing that followed, but the 2015 series was an underdog win by a very unfancied England against what should have been a strong Australian outfit. You can complain about the pitches all you want, but the fact is, both sides batted on day 1 at both Edgbaston and Trent Bridge. Only one side was out for 136 and 60. You could equally well complain about Australia getting first dig on the two best batting surfaces the series offered.

Already had my say on the Opinion Poll thread. But I generally endorse BFL's comments on this.

I expect him to bat on for a while yet. He said he was looking forward to playing without the responsibility and I think that was sincere ; so can't see why he wouldn't be motivated to continue as a batsman - and I certainly hope he does so successfully as England aren't overburdened with top order bats !

Cook's place is safe for as long as he wants it..unless someone else comes through in the middle order and it meant Jennings would have to open..

I expect Cook,Hameed,Jennings, to be the top 3 for the forseeable

interesting interview with cook during the lunch break in todays SA-SL game, nasser doing the interview

he criticised the ECB for how they handled the KP sacking and said that he felt he had been let down by the ECB as they had hung him out to dry and take the flak for the decision, when the decision had been made by other people

That' the version everyone knows. Cook's part being to do nothing. That's what Pietersen describes in the book. In reality, Downton took most of the flak, and Flower made the decision.

it was more that cook actually criticised the ECB and said he felt they had let him down than what his role in the incident had been that surprised me

Yes. That must be the first time.