Plenty Of Positives, But Alistair Cook Looks Like The Ian Botham Of 1981

 

 

Cricket 2014

 

Remembering 1981 and 1989

 

June 25^th 2014

 

Yesterday I posted: “The Test and the series, barring a miracle of epic proportions, are lost. A lost opportunity at Lords and defeatist tactics at Headingley will give the fighting Sri Lankans a deserved first series win in England.”

It so nearly happened. And it left a lot of fans with mixed feelings. England, as a side, did not deserve to escape with the draw. However, the batsmen who so nearly pulled off the miracle yesterday, most certainly did. Through the day, as partnership after partnership ate up time, the possibility of England becoming the first side ever to save a Test when entering the last day 5 wickets down was coming tantalisingly closer. However, such things need their fair share of good luck and luck was not really on England’s side. Although one wicket was annulled due to a un-called no ball, Matt Prior looked unfortunate not to be reprieved too. Of course, this was the only day in the series that, despite rain and bad light, the full allocation of 90 overs were bowled.

It was also a demonstration of an unpalatable truth. Sri Lanka’s pace attack, which had been criticised as toothless in the 1^st Test, showed the English attack how to close out a match. Whereas England had been unable to finish the job at Lords, at Headingley, Eranga kept his nerve and bowled a venomous last over to Jimmy Anderson. Although the fastest delivery of the over did not reach 82mph and the wicket-taking ball was 80.0 mph, every ball except the penultimate one was pitched well short of half way and targeted at Jimmy Anderson’s body, with a host of catchers waiting for the fend-off when the instinct for self-preservation finally took over. It was a superb final over, setting-up the batsman for the close catch.

When a side loses, its first tendency is to spin the defeat by looking at the positives. Even in this Test they were obvious: Sam Robson and Moeen Ali, both playing in only their second Test match, scored centuries full of character, having been severely criticised for batting poorly previously. Liam Plunkett was a dropped catch from managing a 10-for in just his second Test back after an eight-year exile. Gary Ballance added another 50 to his 1^st Test century. Matt Prior looks back to his obdurate best. You could add to the list Joe Root’s double century in the 1^st Test but, as in last summer’s Ashes, the overwhelming fraction of Joe Root’s runs from the series came in a single innings – he is no longer the middle-order rock giving consistent contributions.

Moeen Ali has been an inspired pick. Prematurely criticised, he batted calmly through the day, giving nothing away and utterly unselfish. He marshalled the effort to save the game and nearly did himself out of a deserved century in doing so as he only got over the line just before the end. Moeen Ali is something that England have been so desperately missing for some years: a real personality, someone who stands out and if full of fun. He has a lot of the irrepressible Monty Panesar of 2006 about him. He is also a role model in a multi-cultural society: he plays for England, but is proud of who and what he is.

However, it is the batting of Matt Prior that should give most pause for thought. Although he dropped a sitter and an expensive one at that, he looks to be recovering the form and combativeness that made him England’s go-to player. With no Test cricket after the India series until New Zealand arrive next May, Matt Prior would make a plausible stand-in captain for the side. In what could be his last Test series, he could be told by the selectors that his is a temporary promotion to allow Alistair Cook a rest, but himself go out on a high of having had the honour of captaining his team.

People have been looking for precedents of England cricket captains being sacked. It is not frequent because most resign before the selectors can remove them. One of the most spectacular cases though was of Chris Cowdrey, In the infamous 1988 summer of four official captains he was trumpeted as the start of a new era in the 4^th Test after Mike Gatting’s entanglement with a barmaid and John Emburey lost form so totally that he was unselectable. Injured and replaced as captain by Graeme Gooch for the 5^th Test, Cowdrey was never formally sacked, he was just dropped from the side after a single match in charge. David Gower took over again for the equally disastrous 1989 Tests against Australia before Ian Grieg – brother of Tony – was appointed for the tour of the West Indies, only for the selectors to discover that he was no longer qualified to play for England and have to replace him with Graeme Gooch!

Alistair Cook though looks more like the Ian Botham of 1981. Botham had taken England though two tough series home and away against the West Indies, losing both and losing form as he did so. Compared to the embarrassments that would follow in the 1980s, with two blackwashes, Botham’s record of 1-0 and 2-0 defeats, with England competing strongly in the home series at least, was far from a bad one. However, publically questioned for his lack of captaincy skills, on trial for his poor batting form, struggling with his bowling due to the back injury that would finally remove him as a strike-bowling option, Ian Botham was increasingly testy and stressed, although desperate to set things right. It looks so much like Alistair Cook right now. Ian Botham finally resigned as captain just hours before the selectors were going to sack him and, relieved of pressure, proceeded to show the form of his life for the next year.

Right now there is real doubt as to whether or not Alistair Cook is worth his place in the side. He is not scoring runs. England are not getting starts (it is 7 innings since the last 50 opening partnership and more than 15 months since the last century opening stand). And he is, unlike Mike Brearley, not worth his place on captaincy skills alone.

While, in the heat of battle, he has said that he will continue, even that is a worrying sign. It would have left a better impression if, rather than being combative (something that he has not been on the field of play) he had said that his first inclination was to continue, if the selectors still have faith in him to turn things around, but that he would need to think things over for a few days first.

Right now there is a danger of England going into a 5-Test series that they are expected to win, with a seriously damaged captain who continues to struggle for form and who loses this series too. With every Test in the series in which he neither wins, nor scores runs, the pressure will increase still further, potentially leading to a captaincy change in mid-series. That is a pleasure to be avoided.