Not so long ago, just after the horrendous defeat at Lord’s, Alastair Cook would have thought that his career as England’s captain was over. Indeed, even his spot as an opener in the England team was under threat. The knives were all out for him as his critics – former great players such as Geoffrey Boycott, Shane Warne, Kevin Pietersen, Michael Vaughn – were all over him.
As Cook says, “A lot of us were fighting for our futures really. Maybe it was just a clear-out of our minds, saying, ‘It can’t get any worse. We have to win this series now.” Cook talks about “baring his soul” to his wife Alice, who is also his childhood sweetheart and knows him better than anybody. Apparently, Alice, who is a farmer’s daughter, gave the England skipper an inspiring speech, urging him to hold his chin up, and fight on, without fear of the consequences.
Cook’s critics are numerous. Shane Warne, the legendary Australian spinner, describes his captaincy as “negative”, “boring” and “horrific” and “the worst captaincy I have ever seen”. Cook’s captaincy has also been subjected to a barrage of criticism from the commentary box. How does he deal with all this? “You feel it when it’s going badly and you feel helpless from being able to stop it, really. You try everything. Because you could say, ‘Well I’m trying this.’ And if they understand the reason you’re trying to do it, it would probably be better explained.”
But regardless, the English crowd at the grounds have always backed Cook, seeing him as one of their own, a local hero to be cherished. Says Cook, “The reception when I walked out at Southampton is something I’ll remember forever. I was surprised, to be honest with you.”
Talking of his knock in the first innings at Southampton, Cook says, “I wasn’t thinking of looking good. I was just so desperate to finally contribute.” But admits to having being disappointed at missing out on a hundred: “I was just gutted for myself, on a selfish note.”
Talking of his debut in India in 2006, Cook talks of meeting James Anderson, now one of his best friends for the first time. “I’d never really spoken to Jimmy before but we packed our bags and spent the next three hours on the beach, thinking we might as well make the most of it, because Nagpur doesn’t have too many beaches.” Cook then went on to make a hundred on debut in India. Says Cook in wonder, “You talk about how life can change in a week…You just don’t know.”
Since then Cook has been a prolific batsman for England, making 8500 runs, just 400 short of his former batting coach, Graham Gooch’s two decade old record.
Cook says he found it hard to adjust to captaincy in the beginning. “I found dealing with my close friends the hardest bit, because I respect them and that’s why we’re friend.” batsman. Talking about his role as a opening batsman, Cook says, “You have to be very pragmatic, because you walk out to bat at the best time to bowl, with a brand new ball, against the best bowlers, who are fresh. And their job is to get you out, so when you fail there’s no point beating yourself up.”
Talking about the victory over India, Cook says: “It is tough when you go through it. But even when it is going bad – and it can’t have gone any worse over the last six months – you’re still playing cricket for England.
“Even when every Tom, Dick and Harry was calling for my head, I still felt I could get better at being captain. And I still think I will get better. And that’s probably what kept me going. If I went now, I’d still have some burning questions in my mind. Not many people are ever called England captain, so why would you just throw it away unless you know that you’ve given it everything?”
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