Alastair Cook opens up on Joe Root’s future as England’s Test captain

Former England opener Alastair Cook offered his view on his country’s performance in the Ashes series, especially Joe Root’s future as captain. Cook opined that England neglected Test cricket in 2021, leading to one poor result after another.

Joe Root and co. suffered a forgettable batting collapse on day three of the fifth and final Ashes Test in Hobart. England crumbled from 68-0 to 124 all out, losing by 146 runs and the series 4-0. Chasing 271, the tourists enjoyed a solid start before their middle order wilted under pressure.

In his column for The Times, Cook noted that Joe has a massive decision to make on his captaincy. He might be able to do so after spending some time away from the spotlight. The 37-year old wrote:

“In press conferences since the defeat in Melbourne, Joe has said he wants to carry on. But that’s what you have to say while there are still two Tests to play.”

“It may well be when he gets home, away from the heat of the international arena, and considers the reset that English red-ball cricket clearly needs, that he decides he too isn’t the right man to usher in a new era. Only Joe will know, and I respect his decision either way.”

Cook added that introspection is bound to follow after a chastening defeat, saying:

“Whenever one of the two countries suffers a heavy Ashes defeat, a review inevitably follows – it happened with England in 2007 and 2014 and Australia in 2011.”

Nevertheless, Root, who took charge as England’s Test captain in 2017, intends to continue in the role. The 31-year old knows his team has plenty of soul-searching to do, but is keen to remain the Test captain.

“2021 was the year the neglect of red-ball cricket caught up with England” – Alastair Cook

Alastair Cook acknowledged that England’s woes in Tests have been a long time coming, as players have ignored their weaknesses. England’s leading Test run-getter noted that last year could have been worse if not for a series win in Sri Lanka.

“2021 was the year that the neglect of red-ball cricket caught up with England. We got away with it in recent years because we usually won in English conditions and occasionally enjoyed a morale-boosting series victory overseas to paper over the cracks.”

“In 2021, the cracks burst through the paper. Take out the series win against a weak Sri Lanka, and you are looking at two wins and nine defeats from 13 (and the two draws could have been losses but for the intervention of rain).”

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England head to the West Indies next to play five T20s and three Tests. It will be interesting to see if the ECB changes their Test captain ahead of the red-ball games. All-rounder Ben Stokes could take over.