England sleepwalking to an Alastair Cook captaincy
Maybe I am missing something – a shrewd tactical contribution from the gully, a tendency for stirring dressing-room speeches, or a deep and meaningful appreciation of the game and its place in English history, but the thought of Alastair Cook as
George Binoy
25-Feb-2013
Maybe I am missing something – a shrewd tactical contribution from the gully, a tendency for stirring dressing-room speeches, or a deep and meaningful appreciation of the game and its place in English history, but the thought of Alastair Cook as England captain so far leaves me cold, writes David Hopps in the Guardian.
England have been blessed by three excellent captains in the past decade. Nasser Hussain was feisty, impatient, demanding. Michael Vaughan, shrewd and self-possessed, inherited a more capable side and taught England to relax and back their ability. Then came Andrew Strauss, appointed later than he should have been, and a diplomat for troubled times. Cook's qualities, outside the dressing room at least, remain a mystery. He might be vice-captain in name but it is Paul Collingwood, as senior pro and Twenty20 captain, who the media, subconsciously perhaps, assumes fulfils that role.
George Binoy is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo