England’s slump in form could be the making of the younger members of their squad, according to Alastair Cook.
Yesterday’s nine-wicket defeat by India, sealed with 19.3 overs still remaining, condemned England to a fifth successive one-day series defeat under Cook’s captaincy, bringing fresh calls for his position to be reviewed. He remains defiant for now, but admits that the decision will be out of his hands should Paul Downton, the England and Wales Cricket Board’s Managing Director, or James Whitaker, the national selector, believe change is necessary.
After completing the current series on Friday with a a final one-day international at Headingley, England play a seven-match series in Sri Lanka – never an easy place to prosper – and complete their World Cup preparations with a tri-series in Australia also involving India, currently rated as the No 1 one-day side in the world.
Cook is confident, however, that if his more inexperienced players can withstand the current slump, they will be better for it in the long term.
“This is when you get really tested as an international player, because people start questioning your technique and start questioning your place in the side — from outside of the group — because that is the nature of the beast,” Cook said. “There is a lot more coverage than there is in county cricket, so it’s a real test of them, and the senior guys will be there to help them through it.
Advertisement
“A lot of us have been through it, and are constantly going through it, but as a test of these young players, this will be brilliant. If they come through it, and come through quickly, they will be far better players because of it.”
Among the younger players in the current squad are Gary Ballance, 24, Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes and Joe Root, all 23, while there are several other inexperienced players at international level including Moeen Ali (four ODIs), Alex Hales (three), Chris Jordan (14) and Chris Woakes (16). England have also called Jason Roy, the uncapped Surrey batsman, into the Twenty20 squad for the one-off match against India on Sunday alongside the recalled James Taylor (two ODIs), who may both be candidates for the World Cup.
For now, though, England are focusing on Friday’s final match of the series and the chance to salvage some pride, with Cook adamant that it is not their strategy but the execution of it that needs revising.
“I don’t think it [the strategy] does need to change, I just think we need to do it better,” Cook said. “The first two games we got really good starts off the first ten overs and the problem is none of us have gone on.
“We didn’t get off to a good start [at Edgbaston] so tactics and strategies kind of go out the window when you’re 20 for three or when you’re 90 for five after a collapse, so the top order have to score heavy runs at a good rate, it’s fairly simple.”