da gbg bet： Alastair Cook has credited the backing he received from England supporters for persuading him not to quit as captain in 2014
da bet7： George Dobell at Lord's07-Feb-2017Alastair Cook has credited the backing he received from England’s fans for persuading him not to quit as captain in 2014, at a time when his own employers were far less forthcoming in their support.Cook went into the third Test against India, at the Ageas Bowl in July 2014, facing what he considers “the most pressure I have been under as a player”. Not only was he short of runs – he had gone more than a year without a Test century and even James Anderson had scored more runs that him that summer – but England had recently returned from a whitewash in Australia, just lost a home series against Sri Lanka and were already 1-0 down in the five-match series.More than that, though, the fall-out from the Kevin Pietersen debacle was at its most intense. With others at the ECB unwilling (or not trusted) to poke their heads above the parapet, Cook was all but abandoned to defend the decision on his own. As a consequence, he became the focal point of criticism from those who disagreed with it, with Piers Morgan memorably calling him a “repulsive little weasel” on Twitter.’ECB hung me out to dry over KP’
“It was obviously a big part of my captaincy,” Cook told Nasser Hussain in an interview for Sky. “I felt like it wasn’t handled particularly well by the ECB. I know I was the lightning rod for it, every person thought it was my decision. I felt I bore the brunt of that, unfairly in my personal opinion. As much power you get as England captain, you don’t have the ultimate decision on that sort of thing.”
“Yes, I was part of the decision making, as six or seven other people were. I didn’t actually have that final trigger and I felt as if I was the only person who made that decision. I felt a little bit let down by the ECB by that one period where they kind of left me out to dry a little bit. But that’s all gone now. It’s part and parcel of the challenge of being captain. I can’t say now I have any regrets. I’ve tried, whether I got it right or wrong, to do what was the best for English cricket at that time.”
Unsurprisingly, such abuse quickly eroded Cook’s enthusiasm for the role and he has admitted previously that he went into that Southampton Test doubting his own abilities as captain and batsman, and far from certain he was the man to help England rebuild.But then, as he walked out to bat on the first morning of the game, he was struck by the warmth and intensity of the applause he was given. There were cheers when he scored his first run and a standing ovation when he reached fifty. Even walking on and off the pitch, the strength of support for him was striking. Though he eventually fell five runs short of a century, he had not only provided the platform for a series-turning result, but received reassurance that, whatever the media might say, he retained the fulsome support of the majority of England’s Test-watching public.”The reception I got at Southampton in 2014, when things were as tough as it got for me, that was a special moment for me that kept me in the job,” Cook said at Lord’s on Tuesday as he reflected on his period as captain. “It showed that the general cricket public actually wanted me to carry on and that was very special. I can’t thank the supporters enough, as well as my family and friends.Alastair Cook admitted he wished the KP saga had been handled differently•Getty Images
“It was obviously a pretty tough moment. Obviously I was part of the team that made that decision about KP but there were certain times in 2014 when it did feel as if I was the only one who made it. I did bear the brunt of it and my wife saw a lot of it, and without her, and her family and my family, I would not have lasted as long as I did. That was certainly the toughest moment off the field.”While Cook admitted the Pietersen episode could have been handled better – “I do wish it was done differently,” he said – he insisted he had few regrets from his period as Test captain. Yes, there had been mistakes and challenges and things he would have done differently, but he has taken pride from overcoming the difficulties and can look back content that he has acted with the best of intentions.”I have been fairly true to myself along the way,” he said. “I have made every decision, whether it be having a third or fourth slip or picking a certain player, that seemed the right thing to do at the time. Hindsight is a wonderful thing. So no, I don’t have regrets. I gave it my best shot.”I’ve looked back in the last couple of weeks and been quite proud of what I have achieved. We won some good games and we lost some games as well. I have loved every minute of doing it. It has tested me and I was proud I managed to get through that and show some resilience. I am proud of what I have achieved.”Cook knew his time was up by the end of the Test tour in India just before Christmas. It wasn’t just that he felt “done” personally, it was that he felt the team had “stagnated” and could do with a fresh voice to drive them forward.”Getting on that plane leaving India, I would have been very surprised if I captained England again,” he said. “But I really wanted to give myself time to make sure it is the right decision because of what you are giving away. I didn’t want it to be an emotional decision.”But it was quite clear when I got home, those thoughts didn’t change. I just feel it’s a job you have to do 100 percent commitment to drive the team forward at all times. But looking in the mirror at the end of India, I felt I couldn’t do that. It might have been 95 percent but that’s not good enough and it’s not a job you hang on to like that. You need to be driving it forward.”In the last year, we have played some good cricket but we have lost eight games. We have kind of stagnated if we are being brutally honest as a team. There is a lot of work that needed to be done, I felt, and I just didn’t have that energy to do that.”I feel responsible for that stagnation. That’s part of the parcel of being captain. You are responsible. It’s not a one-man thing but ultimately the captain is part of that. The dressing room has been fantastic. The support of the players has been brilliant. It’s just I think that hearing a new voice could help.”Cook mentioned Jos Buttler, Jonny Bairstow and Ben Stokes as captaincy options – “They are very special,” he said, “who will come into consideration because of their standing in the dressing room and the way they drive things” – but accepted that Joe Root was “an outstanding candidate”.”The fact he’s been vice-captain for the last two years makes him the most likely candidate,” Cook said, “and Strauss has clearly seen some leadership qualities in him. He’s got a very, very good cricket brain, he’s a part of the newer generation of cricketers, and he’s a bloody good cricketer who demands respect in the dressing room because of that. I hope to be part of it in a slightly different role.”I really hope I am part of it in four or five years’ time because that will mean I’ve scored some runs and England are doing well. I genuinely love playing cricket. I really enjoy the challenge of batting. This decision will probably give me a bit more time to dedicate to it. In India, I was more worried about what was happening with other stuff than I was about my batting. That’s the first time that’s ever happened to me.”The timing, from Root’s perspective, might not be ideal. But Cook has earned the right to make what he refers to as a “selfish” decision. And he’s earned the right to the rest that he is enjoying now. He hasn’t picked up a bat since the end of the India series and doesn’t intend to do so until March. But you can be quite sure that, when England’s Test programme resumes in July, Cook will be the recipient of another warm ovation from England’s grateful supporters.
