The Huddle A cricket hangout

Paul Collingwood.....he is the short term answer.

Who's the potential replacement? Any English talent kicking around on the county scene?

Lovely article by Mark Butcher, Butcher was brave enough to speak out where others are refusing to come out, really impressed by Butchers knowledge of the game and his commentary, Butcher should be commenting on TV and replacing some of the dead wood ...

Butch only touches on the real issue here, I am in agreement that Cook has been shown up tactically but who else is there in the frame for the job? Ian Bell despite his amazing performances in the summer always seems to be a candidate for being dropped when things aren't going too well and I have never seen him captain Warwickshire so I am unsure of the skills he demonstrates. Broad is too much of a hothead to be a captain as far as I am concerned. I think the best option under these circumstances is to let Cook learn on the job even if this results in some indifferent performances. Replacing him should only be considered if he does not learn from these failures.

I think the captaincy will be an ongoing problem for England as long as the central contracts are rigidly applied. Captaincy has to be learnt, as long as England players are stopped from playing for their counties they will have no chance to captain. You can not learn how to captain in the teat arena. As long as the England team are winning the team spirit will carry them through. But, as now, who has learnt how to lead?

Let the England players play more county cricket or give them training matches in which to captain.

Mr Butcher.....you and Shane Warne are shaping the new age of commentary. As an aussie, I give praise as deserved. I love the casual format of the huddle. But you need some Aussies to add some banter. Well done.

Cook is so appalling we need to choose someone who can at least captain decently until this team gets a new coach and a new management. Broad is a Flower pick but he won't be there. Broad has the confidence but he hasn't shown any real skill in his t20 job. Not that it is needed so much in that form of the game. It's not going to be easy after this mess to put things right on the field. Everyone is at sixes and sevens. But you have got to have competence. Bell has captained very well before. He's better than ordinary. But ordinary is perhaps better for now. He likes to try out some ideas on the field but if he does accept the captaincy he would be well advised to steady the ship first. Perhaps the batting at 3 ought to be sorted out first. Flower should go now and Giles brought in. Bell has only just be given the VC. If it had come earlier he might have helped Cook with some ideas. But Flower is too dominant. He really runs the team with an iron hand.

Is Cook poor tactically or is it the style of play that's unsuitable for England.On slow,low pitches with reverse swing,England are in their element.Pitch it up,reverse it,set strong legside fields,deep extra cover,1 slip,mid off,cover,mid on,deep square,fine leg,mid wicket and short leg.Look for lbw or pressure dismissals...What happens when the opposite happens..when batsmen are going to dig in,the pitch has good bounce and no reverse swing...in other words similar to Australian conditions...

He's a fine batsman and should of course be retained to open, but should never have been captain - and I said that before this summer started, the cracks were apparent to any who chose to look. Strauss was tactically inept, but he got the very best out of his players, Cook doesn't even manage that. The decline in fielding is the most obvious example, but he has not got the best out of Anderson, his treatment of Panesar was shameful, his handling of Bell and KP is poor to non-existent, and as for Trott and Swann - we may never now quite what went on, but both have looked a pale shadow of their former selves under Cook. And his willingness to take the 'safe' option - picking Tremlett and Bresnan, not declaring etc. - is not just a tactical short-coming, but speaks of a general fear to take a lead off the pitch as well as on.

Let's differentiate between leadership and tactics - Cook is an excellent leader. He has the respect of his team and leads from the front and by example. What he doesn't do so well is tactics - but this can be taught. If his tactics aren't what they should be then the team mgmt should be stepping in to guide him. Note: this assumes that they aren't already doing that. If they are, then yes, it may be time for Andy flower to move on. But not Cook - all he needs is the right tactical guidance.