Stuborness Proves Cook's Undoing

 

 

Cricket 2014

 

Finally the axe falls

 

December 20^th 2014

 

Finally, Alistair Cook has been relieved of the ODI captaincy. After weeks of mixed signals, first seemly confirming him in his role, then saying that the axe might fall, repeating the cycle several times, true to form, Alistair Cook has had to be sacked to get him to leave the post. His successor is not the greatest surprise. Had it been Joe Root then the endless speculation about Alistair Cook losing the Test captaincy too would have started afresh. Had it been James Taylor, fans would have been stunned by a really adventurous move. Morgan is the steady move: he was the regular stand-in already and was captain for England’s only ODI series win for eighteen months. That said, the calls for Morgan himself to be dropped have got louder and louder over the last year so, unless the captaincy sparks a glorious revival in him, it may only be a short-term appointment.

Cook is no stranger to Australia-induced runs of poor form. He had a very poor run against Australia in 2009 that continued for the 1^st Test in South Africa that winter, before he roared back with three centuries and two fifties in his next five Tests. His current run though is unprecedented: 17 Tests, going back to New Zealand at Headingley in late May 2013 since he has made a Test century; the fact that he has made nine half centuries since then without once converting one speaks volumes. The question now is whether or not he can re-capture his Test form and appetite for run-scoring: not everyone is convinced that he can.

Alistair Cook seemed to predict his fate when saying at the end of the Sri Lanka series that he could have no complaints if he were sacked: it looks as if the strain had finally got to him after twelve months of being questioned constantly.

This though has been such an unnecessary crisis. If Alistair Cook had had the sense to give up the ODI captaincy after the Test series against India, he would have been hailed as a hero, the unquestioned captain of the side. Someone else would have taken the rap for the expected defeat in Sri Lanka and the anticipated debacle in the World Cup, with Cook coming back against the West Indies as the saviour in a Test series against a side that is increasingly unable to offer more than token resistance against serious opposition.

Eoin Morgan at least has a licence to go out and be his own man. With Scotland, Afghanistan and Bangladesh in England’s group, together with the Sri Lankans who have won just 38 of 133 ODIs in Australasia, it would take a disaster of unprecedented proportions for England not to make the Quarter Finals. With the two hardest matches being the first two group games, a win in either might just set the set team up for a run that could just surprise a few cynics.

Meanwhile, Australia are giving more signs that their current side is more fragile than it seemed. Having been whitewashed by Pakistan, they were expected to defeat India with great ease. However, despite being 2-0 up in the series, India could have won both Tests and Australia have looked distinctly ragged at times. India’s young side seem to be showing real spirit. Whether or not they can convert “real spirit” into a Test win in this series is an interesting question: if they were to win the 3^rd Test, it would not be hard to imagine them completing an amazing comeback in the series.

The Ghosts Of 2009

 

 

Cricket 2014

 

Is he? Isn’t he?

 

December 14^th 2014

 

 

“England fans tend to be hyper-critical and unforgiving.” (November 23^rd)

“One wonders if Alistair Cook will survive as captain if England lose 7-0, or even 6-1, even if he starts to score some runs: how much patience do the selectors have with him? Possibly not much more.” (November 29^th)

“The question has been answered in the clearest possible way by the selectors. Alistair Cook is captain for the World Cup, so there is no point debating the issue more.” (December 8^th)

The series is gone now, with England 4-2 down with one match to play. Alistair Cook’s poor series continued with a pretty awful sixth match that suggested that his mind is frazzled.  Despite the fact that a month ago you would have got quite long odds on England keeping the series live into the sixth match and the denouement was expected long before it actually happened, the fans and experts are being as unforgiving as unusual. Five losses in the last six ODI series, including three in England, which has always been the place where even the best sides usually fail to win, is a dismal record. Calls for Alistair Cook to step down, or to be sacked if he refuses to, are now being joined by calls for Peter Moores to go. It could be that Peter Moores’s best chance of survival is to wield the axe, but there is almost more chance of him featuring in a repeat of 2009 and being the protagonist of a double change of captain and coach.

In 2009, Peter Moores and Kevin Pietersen annihilated each other mutually is a blaze of heat and light, the lasting fallout of which may well have contributed to the latter’s recent exile. For England, despite an unpalatable defeat against the West Indies with a provisional management in the immediate aftermath of the conflagration, the end result of the change was the best period in their recent history, reaching #1 in the T20, Test and ODI rankings at different times, winning three consecutive Ashes series and England’s only ever global trophy.

The truth was that, although Peter Moores was forced to re-build in the face of mass retirements after the 2006/07 Ashes wipe-out, the England record during his reign was pretty awful and it was a surprise to many when he was re-appointed on Andy Flower’s resignation.

Peter Moores 2014, we were assured, was a more gentle and understanding coach who would work well with the players, but his start has not been a good one. The only bright point has been the comeback win against a totally disinterested India in the summer Test series. Apart from that, his record is almost exclusively one of defeats: Test defeat v Sri Lanka; ODI defeats home and away v Sri Lanka and at home v India; T20 defeat in the Caribbean and at home v Sri Lanka; only one win in the T20 World Cup and a defeat to The Netherlands to boot. The only series wins were in the Caribbean ODIs (having selected a team of T20 specialists), in a one-off ODI v Scotland (played effectively as a T20) and in a one-off T20 v India. The balance is poor and, with a tri series in Australia and the World Cup to come, plus Test series against Australia and South Africa, is likely to get even worse before it gets better. Right now, it is uncertain that anyone would offer odds on England to beat Australia next summer in any of the three formats and, despite England’s good record against South Africa since 2003, you would not bet much money on England winning there either.

The Moores-Cook combo is not producing results. Fans and pundits are getting increasingly restless and, just six days after apparently confirming that Alistair Cook will captain England in the World Cup, Peter Moores has come out and stated that his place in the final 15 for the tournament is not assured. This has created varied readings, although many experts are cautioning that Moores’s comments may not be all that they seem to be. With just the tri-series to come and with the stand-in captain Eoin Morgan’s place under some threat still, with just one significant score since returning from Australia, the chances of bedding in a new captain should the axe fall on Alistair Cook, are far from good. However, it is not as if there are no plausible candidates at all. Eoin Morgan can point still to the fact that the only real score that he has made since the Australian ODIs was as captain in Sri Lanka – would making him captain bring back his sparkling and devastating form? James Taylor has made a convincing case to play in the World Cup and is a successful captain at Nottinghamshire. And Joe Root is seen as a future England captain and is in sparkling form: starting him with the ODI captaincy would find out if he has what he needs to be England’s next Test captain in the same way that Michael Vaughan was initiated. However, asking a new captain to take up the job in a tough series in Australia that England are expected to lose badly is not the greatest way to build him up.

As Peter Moores has consistently backed Alistair Cook, changing captain now would also be a major admission of failure on his part and one that would only add to the calls for his short second period in charge to be terminated abruptly too. Something is going to give soon: either England start winning or the axe will fall and heads will roll. Invoking the ghost of 2009 may though be just what England need now.

Yet Again, Close But No Cigar...

 

 

Cricket 2014

 

Close, but no cigar, again…

 

December 8^th 2014

 

“One wonders if Alistair Cook will survive as captain if England lose 7-0, or even 6-1, even if he starts to score some runs: how much patience do the selectors have with him? Possibly not much more.”

The question has been answered in the clearest possible way by the selectors. Alistair Cook is captain for the World Cup, so there is no point debating the issue more. Whatever your personal opinion, you have to get behind the team and the captain.

The Sri Lanka tour is, in one sense, going as expected. A Sri Lankan team who failed to put up more than token resistance against India – albeit in a series organised in a rush when the West Indies tour was abandoned – has proved far too strong for England. However, among the wreckage some very creditable performances are emerging. Moeen Ali is showing that he is a powerful option as an opener. England are getting fast starts when he comes off, which has been in three of the five innings on this tour: a century and two fifties more than offset his two failures. Although his bowling has been less effective than it was last summer, this is all part of the learning experience. Only Kumar Sangakarra has more runs in the series, but at a far inferior strike rate.

James Taylor got his chance as a replacement for Alistair Cook: fine irony there, as James Taylor would be a credible alternative as captain. A fine 90 scored at a rate 14 runs/100 balls faster than Alistair Cook in this series shows what England are missing. Unfortunately, Alex Hales has continued his disappointing start against India and is struggling to make a case to be in the starting XI at the World Cup. Two chances: the first a relatively rapid 27, the second a first-baller. Most England fans would like to see Moeen Ali and Hales open, but Hales really is not making it easy for the selectors to pick him.

While England are now getting quick starts, a familiar problem is still embarrassingly present. Despite an array of power hitters, the middle order is getting stuck. It has cost England probably two wins in the series. In fact, a more confident side would have won all four matches instead of losing three of the four by rather narrow margins.

More good news for England has come in the fine form of Chris Woakes, who has done an excellent job with the new ball. It is interesting to contrast his fortunes with Steve Finn. Few fans offered the choice between Finn and Woakes would go for Woakes, rather disparagingly dismissed by many as “a batsman who can bowl”. Although Steve Finn is clearly on his way back and is a far cry from the dispirited bowler of Australia, it is Woakes who is getting the new ball breakthroughs: 6 wickets against 2 at a slightly better economy rate. Chris Jordan is also rewarding the faith of the selectors. He was England’s best bowler in the 4^th ODI and has by far the best average and economy of any member of the England attack in the matches so far.

While Jordan and Finn are repaying the selectors, Ben Stokes’s form remains a major issue. In the three matches that he has played he has been entrusted with 2, 4 and 2 overs and gone for 85 runs. The decision to play Stokes instead of Tredwell in the 4^th ODI quite possibly cost England the match. Nine ODIs since returning from Australia have provided just 4 wickets, three of them in a single match. He is not providing the weight of runs as a finisher, or a sufficiently fast scoring rate to justify his place as a batsman and he is certainly not justifying being described as or selected as a front-line bowler, which is what he was meant to be. It is hard to see how he can be picked in the final 15 for the World Cup, let alone make the final XI. Stokes is an exciting talent, but something is not right with him right now.

Eoin Morgan, on the other hand, has had a major run transfusion. A fast 62, albeit in a losing cause, is a reminder of his talent yet, when he looks back on his scores of 1, 17, 1 & 62 he should not feel too proud of his contribution so far in the series.

One remains convinced that the elements for a successful World Cup campaign are there, but the mixture that the selectors are providing is not quite right.

With Broad, Anderson, Finn, Woakes and Jordan competing for a maximum of four bowling spots, Moeen Ali and Tredwell as spinners, Hales, Moeen Ali, Taylor, Bopara, Morgan & Buttler to supply batting power and the adaptable Joe Root, the side could yet surprise a few if the selectors play their card right.