It would be a surprise if it caught you by it.
Alastair Cook’s resignation from the post of England captain wouldn’t have registered on the sporting Richter scale for the simple and very predictable reason that it was always coming.
Cook is a stubborn man, a trait that has stood him in good stead over the length of his tenure, but he is canny enough to know which way the wind is blowing. The result was a low-key announcement, followed by a press conference in the same vein; particularly apt on a dank, grey and chilly day in St John’s Wood.
No fanfare, no hyperbole from the man himself and the stating of a desire to keep on doing what he does best, namely the churning out of runs at the top of the order. Cook in a nutshell, come to think of it.
You could debate until the cows come home as to whether Cook was a good captain but what was undoubted, and has been very clear, is that he had the respect of all of his charges (OK, all but one), he was committed to English cricket and he did as well as he could.
Watch a game of football or rugby from high in the stands and the view is vastly different to that if you were stood on the halfway line. That is the one factor often forgotten by those handing out the appraisals; the job can only be done through the eyes of the incumbent.
Cook may well have been conservative in his methods and lacking in flair compared to a few of his international counterparts but, as with batting, the end result is ultimately how you’re assessed.
A couple of Ashes series, and wins abroad in India and South Africa are strong references. Whatever else Cook achieved – or didn’t, depending on your slant – others have been judged in a more favourable light with far less to show for it.
Close on 60 Tests in charge is a good effort but after an underwhelming year, which culminated in a shellacking at the hands of Virat Kohli et al, the need for evolution was all too clear.
And unless Andrew Strauss has discovered a midlife capacity for left-field thinking, Cook’s baton will have been passed to Joe Root by the time South Africa show up in England in a few months’ time.
Thinking about it, it’s difficult to see who else it could be apart from the Yorkshireman.
Well-established, a certain selection, obviously respected and – most importantly – willing to take the job on, Root ticks most boxes and while some have suggested he be left to concentrate on his primary skill, the odds are firmly in his favour.
Much has already been made of having time to bed in before next winter’s Ashes but that is a predictable path to trot down. The scrutiny is such that the idea of a honeymoon period is wishful thinking for whoever takes over. Begin in poor fashion against Faf du Plessis’ men and the commentary won’t be wrapped in cotton wool.
That’s just the way it is and having had a few years on the international treadmill and in the full glare of its spotlight, Root won’t expect anything less. It has been mentioned that a fresh captain can mould the England side in a more enterprising fashion, adding an expansiveness in line with the game circa 2017.
Yet as long as Test cricket exists there will be a place for pragmatism over effervescence, for attention over adventure and substance over style.
And whether it is Root or somebody else tossing the coin – how about Stuart Broad as an outside punt? – they would do themselves a favour by making sure their former head is the first name on the teamsheet.
Cook may well have relinquished part of his role but he shouldn’t say goodbye in its entirety.
England’s leading run-scorer next summer? Why not.
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While a premature retirement isn’t the solution, he or England want, he may be forced into it if he can’t maintain a long run of matches.
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