Alastair Cook may be facing a tough examination of his credentials as England’s one-day captain but he will be cheered by the backing of his own team-mates.
Ahead of the fifth one-day international at Headingley Carnegie where England will be attempting to avoid a 4-0 series whitewash, Moeen Ali insisted that the team are fully behind their beleagured leader.
Cook came through some testing questions about his leadership qualities during England’s 3-1 Test series win over India but he has been under renewed scrutiny after some lacklustre performances against the world champions of the 50-over format.
Several leading pundits, including Michael Vaughan and Graeme Swann, have urged Cook to quit the one-day game and focus on Test cricket with the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand just six months away.
However, Ali, whose doughty 67 in his series debut was a lone England highlight in a crushing nine-wicket defeat at Edgbaston on Tuesday, said that no-one within the squad wanted Cook to quit.
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“He’s been the same as he was [in the Tests],” Ali said. “He’s been exactly the same with the lads. He’s been Cooky, trying to get everyone playing well, trying to do well for himself and I’m sure tomorrow he can do that and play well.
“There’s still a lot to play for, players are playing for places and to win a game for England is important.”
When asked if the players felt they were playing to ease the pressure on Cook, Ali said: “A little bit. We are playing for England, he’s the captain and whatever he says we do. He’s got all our backing and like any other game for England we’re trying to do our best.”