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Loading ...Cook is an ideal opener for Englad in their current situation. Granted that his style is not as flamboyant as Marcus T, but I believe the key virtue to look for in Cook is his consistency. His performance in recent innings quantifies that best as indicated above in the article. There is also no doubt that he needs to play a longer innings and continue his stay at the crease for extended periods. Its a shame to see him put in the hardwork and not score big and carry on. I am sure that is something on Cook’s radar as well, but I agree that he is a very intelligent cricketing brain and it would be a travesty to see him succumb to any kind of pressure to score big and revert his current performance.
Here’s to Cook’s consistency !
Alastair Cook’s defence
By Mark Tilley last year, mid-January Add your comment below
I recently got my hands on the annual ‘England’s Summer of Cricket’ DVD, giving me a chance to re-live the unconvincing victories over New Zealand and the entertaining series with South Africa, albeit a series that England lost. It was all good fun, even though I was painfully reminded how desperately poor England were at times.
One thing that struck me as being noteworthy, however, was the form and the scores of Alastair Cook, with particular attention to the latter half of the summer. Cook, without a three figure Test score since December 2007 against Sri Lanka in Galle, has been criticised in some quarters over the last year, mainly due to that precise reason. Inability to convert good scores has been a problem afflicting English batsmen for some time but many have singled Cook out. No-one is suggesting he lose his place, but his golden boy status of his early career has most likely faded out now.
As a fan of Cook, watching him last summer was, at times, frustrating for me but never wholly disappointing. What many tend to forget about the Essex opener is that he has made a fifty in each game since the opening test with South Africa back in July. His scores in each game from then reads: 60, 60, 76, 67, 52 and 50.
Of course, these numbers are coupled with relative failures in the corresponding innings of the match. But it suggests that Cook is in touch and has been for a while.
Another impressive thing to note is that those scores were made against quality opposition. The South African attack was a fearsome one and often blew the English away and the last two scores were made in tough conditions in the subcontinent, against an excellent Indian bowling attack. Cook may have been unable to post the big totals against New Zealand but when the quicker and more skilled bowlers asked questions of him, he generally had a positive answer.
Cook is a stylish batsman – not necessarily an entertaining one in the Kevin Pietersen genre but definitely an effective one. His preferred method of accumulation is by staying in and occupying the crease. If you need a man in this England team to really grind out a score, it’s certainly Cook. He remains one of England best and, if you ask me, an essential part of the teams Ashes hopes.
He does desperately need a hundred, there is no hiding away from that fact. But before people write him off prematurely, maybe they should look at the number of runs he has actually scored. Fifties don’t win you a Test match, granted, but they can set you up pretty nicely more often than not. And they’re better than ducks.
What does everyone else make of Cook’s perceived lack of form? Answers and arguments below please.
Tags: alastair-cook, england, form, openers |
8 Responses to “Alastair Cook’s defence”
January 17th, 2009 at 10.55 pm
January 18th, 2009 at 1.22 am
Am a huge fan of cook. His temperament is so impressive for such a young player and he has runs to back it up.
Hugely frustrating that he cant just get to that next hundred. Surely when he does he’ll be right back amongst englands most reliable batsmen. Can understand people’s frustrations but cook is the real deal trust me
January 18th, 2009 at 5.14 pm
I’d like the batsmen in my team to be knocking up 60s every week when they’re out of form. Reminds me of Graham Thorpe in his early England days.
I think there’s a general feeling that the whole England team is underperforming. Why, when they have all this talent and resources, are they not dominating? We’ve gotten so used to Aus winning everything, that when we finally beat them, we expected to steal their mantle.
One problem might be that Cooky is hiding in there amongst batsmen of the same ilk. Bar Freddy and KP, we have a top order of stickers, several underperforming. It’s never a good idea to build your one-day batting line-up like that. Not in 2009.
January 18th, 2009 at 6.12 pm
Cookey is a class act, he’ll get a hundred soon…. 1st match against the aussie’s …now there’s a dream ….
January 19th, 2009 at 2.37 pm
Perhaps one problem is that, while he scores the odd century and lots of fifties, he’s never made a really big score (150+) at Test level – which given his talent and the number of Tests he’s played at the top of the order, is a disappointment. He just doesn’t seem to have quite Trescothick’s appetite for runs, and plenty of ‘em – as could be said of Ian Bell (or how about Mark Butcher for a comparison)? However, Bell has two excuses – he has made big scores at times, and he usually bats lower down the order.
I can’t help wondering if Cook was picked too soon. Butcher came good in the end, after losing his place and having to fight hard for it. Perhaps a season on the county circuit filling his boots might give Cook the taste for immense scores and see him really nail down his place on a return to the side. Same for Ian Bell perhaps?
January 19th, 2009 at 4.23 pm
Can’t agree welshman ….these guys should of been in the England side sooner, only for the paper pushing bureaucracy of ECB where they not….. Bell at 18 or 19 was on fire in the county scene, not to mention Nicki Peng who was also scoring stupid amounts of runs – and he to my mind was never even capped, throw em in young “that’s what i say”
January 19th, 2009 at 4.58 pm
The only problem I’ve got with Cook – and it’s hardly his fault, is the ‘Future England Captain’ tag that gets trundled out every time a vacancy comes up. (Last summer, and then again a few weeks ago)
This seems to be based on little more than the fact that he can talk proper, went to a posh school and plays for a Southern county.
Seriously- is there some hidden qualification we aren’t being told about? It’s not like he’s even skippered Essex yet.
February 7th, 2009 at 6.34 pm
This is an excellent topic Mark and one that I have given much thought since last summer. I am a firm believer that batsmen have to make hundreds at regular intervals in order to keep their place and that international batsmen should play county games as often as possible, to keep them familiar with making big scores and batting for long periods. However I think the current belief is that the county scene provides easy runs and produces players that are not well adapted enough to play test cricket.
In Cook’s case and Bell’s as well, I would say that this is not true, because he they have the natural talent to walk into test cricket and that playing much county cricket, would allow him to build run scoring momentum and familiarise them with batting for extended periods, a whole day for example.
When Cook first started in test cricket, he had the strange talent of being able to make hundreds and not fifties. Now he seems to have reversed that trend. When he starts to make the hundreds again, he will be the complete batsman and one of the best in the world.
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