It was Alistair Cook’s day yesterday at Rose Bowl in Southampton. The day could have been even better, and almost perfect, had Cook made just 5 runs more. The England captain made his highest score in Test cricket since May 2013. Before getting out so agonizing close to his century, captain Cook had made a solid, fighting score of 95, in the typical gritty and combative Alistair Cook style of old, which has made him one of the brightest stars ever to play for England, and a favorite of not just the English cricket establishment, but also of that of the media and most importantly, the general public.
That Alistair Cook is a hero in England was never in doubt, although his fans were increasingly concerned in recent months over the sharp deterioration of his batting form. There was sadness mixed with relief on Cook’s face as he walked off after getting caught behind at leg side off Indian left arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja’s bowling – sad because he had missed out on a well deserved hundred and relief because at least, he had come so far. The English crowd was upset for a while too, with Cook getting out so close to his hundred, but perked up soon after and gave their captain an emotional standing ovation.
But for Cook to really have made a comeback, getting runs against a mediocre bowling outfit such as India’s is only half the job done. He will face much tougher opposition when England take on Australia in the next Ashes at home, and South Africa before that. But it’s not Cook’s fault that the Indian bowling for this match was so very weak. Ishant Sharma, the only Indian bowler with pace and height, who bounced out England at Lord’s, had to bow out because of an injury received during training. He was replaced by an equally tall Pankaj Singh, who is bigger in built than the lean Ishant, but lacks the pace to make an impact at the highest level. Singh is an honest worker, maintained a good line and length, but there was little he could do on a good batting pitch at Rose Bowl with his military medium pace.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammad Shami too looked highly lackluster, already feeling the effects of a long Test series, and one would be surprised to see either last the entire 5 matches of the Investec Series. The Indian bowling was poor, and this allowed Cook and later Gary Ballance to take full advantage of it. In Ballance, England have found an excellent replacement to the highly reliable Jonathan Trott. Ballance has the solidity and combativeness of Trott, but is slightly more talented with a greater range of strokes with the bat. Ballance made another hundred, his third in only six Tests so far in his short career. He has also made a couple of fifties – which only goes to show his amazing consistency.
Ballance and Cook put up an excellent partnership of 158 runs for the second wicket before Cook lost his wicket so unfortunately. But Ballance was still at the increase, unbeaten on 104, with Ian Bell for support. England had by then taken full advantage of Alistair Cook’s decision to bat on an excellent batting pitch, making 247 in 90 overs, while only losing the wickets of the openers, Cook and Sam Robson.
Earlier in the day, England made three changes, replacing Matt Prior, Liam Plunkett and Ben Stokes with Joss Butter, Chris Woakes and Chris Jordan. Only Plunkett’s replacement was unexpected, as he was by far England’s best bowler at the last Test at Lord’s and had also made an unbeaten fifty. But apparently, his change was forced one, not tactical, as the management felt that he needed to be rested. India also made a couple of changes, bringing in Pankaj Singh and Rohit Sharma for Ishant Sharma and Stuart Binny.
