Lord’s 2015. Australia are 1-0 down in the Ashes, yet have come out in this Test and posted a score of 566. They cannot lose from here, but a win is not yet guaranteed.
English captain Alastair Cook strides to the wicket.
Before this series began, he was under immense pressure. His ego and a faulty ECB allowed him to hang on too long to the ODI captaincy prior to a disastrous World Cup. England didn’t even make the final eight. Cook’s false ambitions must take some of the blame.
His starring role in the Kevin Pietersen train wreck, added to a recent two-year stretch without a Test hundred, plus coming from the ‘right kind of family’ all conspired to have the general public offside.
A natural leader of men he is not. Neither exhilarating nor an educated risk taker. His bat was no longer doing any talking.
Or had we missed something?
Here, when his team needed him the most, he dug in. Six wickets fell around him. Cook would be the seventh. But that event would not occur until he had posted 96 and lasted into the 79th over.
Another 100 flew by without his name attached to it, but he had done his job as an opener. That his side folded for 103 in the fourth innings made it all irrelevant.
And hereby lies the problem with Alastair Cook in recent years.
Whatever he does that is good is largely irrelevant. The side no longer needs him, his runs or his captaincy. It has moved on, and not because England has won back the Ashes.
In the 2014 English summer, Cook averaged less than 20 when Sri Lanka finally won a series in the UK. The images of James Anderson crying after simultaneously losing the series by being the last man out, combined with him winning Man of the Series still linger.
It was also where Cook bottomed out. From here on end, his performance with the bat rose, and quite sharply.
Against India, he averaged 49.66. He passed 50 in three out of seven innings. Against the West indies, it was 53.60. He passed 50 in three out of six innings. Against New Zealand, it was 77.25. He passed 50 in all four innings.
Against those numbers, it is hard to fault his batting. However, it is easy to fault his captaincy. England only won one of those three series above.
They have also just won the Ashes back. But it is neither due to Cook’s batting or his captaincy.
With one dead rubber to go, Cook averages 31.85. He has passed 50 only once from seven attempts in the series. Apart from his 96 in a match where England lost by 405 runs, his batting has been mediocre at best.
It is also a long bow to draw to say his captaincy had much to do in regards to England winning back the Ashes.
He didn’t drop Joe Root at Cardiff, allowing him to make a match winning hundred. His bowling didn’t skittle Australia for 136 at Birmingham. Every single wicket in their first innings fell either LBW, bowled or caught in the cordon.
That had nothing to do with Cook’s captaincy. Placing Joe Root at short third slip with a helmet on doesn’t count. That wasn’t leadership or tactics. It was simply a stupid statement.
He had little to do with Steven Finn being selected to play and taking six wickets in the second innings to wrap up the match. If it wasn’t for Anderson getting injured, he probably wouldn’t have bowled Finn for 21 overs.
Cook had absolutely nothing to do with Broad’s 8/15 at Trent Bridge.
All in all, a mountain of evidence suggests that although Cook was a deserved starter for this Ashes campaign, England would have won it without him if they had to.
He hasn’t had to juggle bowlers or be imaginative in the field. He hasn’t contributed with the bat. Between both teams, there are eight players with a better series batting average than Cook.
I predicted before this Ashes that it would be the last for both captains. Clarke has already given us half of that prophecy. Cook should leave the Test arena an Ashes hero and complete it.
Who wouldn’t want to retire as a winning Ashes captain?
For if he doesn’t, it is highly likely that the false noise about his lack of recent runs, average captaincy and, even worse, people leadership will drown out the aura he currently has a grasp on.
Follow Dennis on Twitter @DennisCricket_ or at Dennisdoescricket.com
Birdy
Guest
Actually, JimmyB, Dennis is growing on me. If you read the two previous articles Andy has linked above with this one on Cook he's doing us poms a great service. How could any Aussie now deny that England fans laughing at them hysterically is anything other than justified. Go on Dennis give it one more go for the team. Surely there must be some ball-tampering suspicion (they sell mints in the confectionery stand at both Edgbaston and Trent Bridge) that you could combine with 'pitch-doctoring' to generate another blinding 500 words or so. Or how about 'Root is overrated and will finish his career with an average in the low 20s'?
Birdy
Guest
Thanks, Andy, you're a star. I vaguely remember this 'article' you linked to but didn't remember it came for Dennis the cricket 'guru'. Wow; I think if I'd written those two pieces I might have gone on an extended holiday before putting my head above the parapet again. On one level you've got to admire his capacity to withstand embarrassment
Gpr
Guest
No one likes Cook
Saurebh Gandle
Roar Guru
He is definitely not imaginative or tactically great.His bowlers have been great.As captain if he step down is Joe Root ready for such burden at 24? As a batsmen a lot depends on his form in UAE,South Africa.Post that it will be good time to call on his captaincy career. As a player he needs to decide if he is hungry enough
Andy
Guest
Actually what is really fun is going thru Dennis's older articles. I know hindsight is 20/20 but some of these are wonderful. I just read http://www.theroar.com.au/2015/06/23/can-england-win-the-ashes/ . Its wonderful, he starts by calling Sehwag fat and then goes onto say odis dont matter but then goes thru Englands odi and 20/20 history and ends with a wonderful comparison of the Australia and English teams stacking up players against each other. Personal favourites include talking about Warner batting for an extended period of time, somehow saying that Root is awesome but then saying that Voges v Root is therefore a nil all draw but then giving the point to Root and calling the English bowlers useless. Oh and that Ali cant bat. Its a great read.
JimmyB
Guest
Congratulations Dennis, you've quickly become my least favourite author on the Roar, which given some of the competition is quite an achievement. Another steaming turd of an article, keep it up son.
mattyb
Guest
Problem though birdy,I actually was one of those lol.Oh well I might be a loud mouth Aussie but at least I'm not a complete and utter fool.Credit where credit is due,England and Cook have done well and the better side one. I'm actually tipping Cook to flourish in the next couple of years.An excellent cricketer who has seen off some hard times.All cricketers see them and Cook may well come out the other end very very well.
Andy
Guest
Id be surprised if they only were looking at Cook for the next few years, why would they want him to retire as captain at 33? I am assuming that he will still be playing well ofcourse but if he is playing well why would they drop him as captain in favour of Root?
Birdy
Guest
We all get embarrassed by our own countrymen at times, mattyb, but sensible Aussies do have a lot to put up with given the tendency of so many of your brethren to conjure up hostages to fortune by mouthing off so heroically before the fat lady has even got warmed-up.
mattyb
Guest
As an Australian these articles are as embarrassing as it gets.
Dave Richardson
Roar Guru
Totally agree with Chris Kettlewell's comment. The only issue will be whether he remains Captain, my guess is that will try and get Cook through to the next ashes in Oz in 2017/18 when he will still be only 33 and then handover to Root, who by that time will be 27. Perfect timing to take over the reins. Of course Cook may still play on after that depending on form and his own levels of motivation
Birdy
Guest
Andy, thanks very much for posting this link to the chest-beating article the author wrote after the Lords test. I hadn't read it, which is good, because reading it now has given me such a laugh (even if I did spill my cappuccino). What amazes me is that many Aussies can churn this hubristic nonsense out but then seem genuinely aggrieved and irritated when their hubris explodes in their faces and they get a little bit back. Too many gems to list all of them but England's 'pop-gun' attack obviously stands out as does the specific name-checking of Anderson, Wood, and Finn as bowlers that couldn't possibly disturb the calm of those chiselled-jawed, gutsy Aussie batsman whose backbone and character have so impressed us all in the two test matches since the article was written. Trying to think of a wider gap at any time in any sport between the chest-beating of this article and the subsequent reality of being bowled out for 60 in 111 balls (the quickest in the history of test cricket, unsurpassed by Zimbabwe or Bangladesh at their worst) , but I'm struggling. Can anyone remember comparable examples?
Dennis Freedman
Roar Guru
Yep. I'm bitter
Andy
Guest
I just reread Dennis's article he wrote after the Lords test. http://www.theroar.com.au/2015/07/24/the-one-reason-england-cant-win-the-ashes/ he really does not like English players, even Cook. I always thought most people liked Cook.
Chris Kettlewell
Roar Guru
Cook is still only 30 years old. I know it seems he should be older, but he debuted really young and England play more tests than anyone else means that he's reached his 118 tests at a pretty young age. If he can get his form going again and play until he's 35 he could well play 170-180 tests and be a 13,000 test run player. He hasn't been at his best in this series, but hasn't been poor (for definition of poor see most of the Australian batting lineup) and he seemed to come good against NZ. So he's not at a point of not being able to buy a run and needs to give it away. And having been as good as he has at points in his career, at just 30 years of age he shouldn't be getting worse because of age yet.
13th Man
Guest
well if he wanted to go out on a high, now would be a good time. However, i think Cook still has more to give.
Pope Paul vii
Guest
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Tanami Singh
Guest
Dennis dead set hates Cook and Anderson. If our batsmen were half as consitant as Dennis we'd have won the Ashes.
Andy
Guest
Especially as he been out twice to incredible balls and once to a freak catch, he has easily been the most unlucky batsman.
Andy
Guest
Wow, i get that this is an Australia site so we by default only grudgingly give praise to England and up our boys up but come on. Cook has been very very good this series. He has looked good batting, he has gotten out twice to truly great balls and that freak catch of Lyon. He has alot more to give to England.