Following Alastair Cook’s resignation as England captain, we profile his leadership’s progression and the moments that provided a stern, sometimes unwanted, challenges in a three-part series…
Snagged and snared all too frequently during his reign as England’s longest-serving Test captain, Alastair Cook’s fateful 2016 shares similar themes felt throughout his 59 Tests in charge.
Upon taking over from Andrew Strauss, Cook allayed fears the captaincy would affect his batting in the most assured way by scoring 562 runs in the tour to India in 2012.
Unshaken with bat in hand despite the summer’s ‘text-gate’ frenzy, Cook reassembled the fractured pieces to England’s puzzle. With Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar providing a unified spin threat and the previously outcast Kevin Pietersen also hitting form.
Overturning a disastrous first Test defeat when losing by 246 runs into a 2-1 series win after victories in Mumbai and Kolkata and a draw in Nagpur.
The good times continued for the Essex opener as he, along with coach Andy Flower, laid in place the blocks for England’s defence of the Ashes they reclaimed in 2011.
Perhaps the first instance of the captaincy telling on Cook’s performances with the bat saw him fail to make it into the top three run-scorers for England, as critiques of his field positions became less and less picky and more reasonable as a concern.
Deciding which bowler to throw the ball to would require Cook to be less forensic, as Graeme Swann, James Anderson and Stuart Broad were left to their own devices to overpower Australia’s batting line-up in English conditions.
Where he fell steeply in expectations with the bat, averaging 27.70 for the series, Cook could at least sit back and watch Ian Bell lock up his wicket and play in his own eclectic style to three centuries.
England wrapped up the series 3-0 as Australia struggled in transition from Mickey Arthur to Darren Lehmann. Nonetheless a win over the Aussies is worth hailing as a success and led Cook to say at the time, “the England dressing-room is a pretty good place to be at the moment.”
But with pride in a historic win making pride itself all the more vulnerable to insecurities, it wasn’t long before distant rumblings came to the fore to halt Cook in his tracks.
2013-14 Ashes
Through facing the intense, nerve-shredding pace of Australian fast bowler Mitchell Johnson, England found their jubilant celebrations back at The Oval acted as a source of motivation for the hosts.
The visitors wilted under Lehmann’s revistalised and engaged attack with bat and ball, losing four of the five Tests by 150 runs or more on the way to a 5-0 whitewash.
England looked devoid of answers as pace bowling in its purest form plagued the minds of Cook and co. with Nathan Lyon providing the supporting act.
The ECB, intolerant of a 5-0 whitewash dug for rationale; to understand, no less find a fault, for the shortcomings.
The outcome of the digging was filthy, and some argued dirty, as Kevin Pietersen was once again banished from the England fold for his divisive conduct inside the dressing room.
Whether he was a part of his team-mate’s jettison or not, Cook was trapped in an event started by the ECB which had Kevin Pietersen singing like a canary and searching across Fleet Street and its former associates for a ghost writer.
While Pietersen told his story, to be echoed by Piers Morgan, Cook outright denied accusations he had forced a him-or-me ultimatum to the ECB.
Able to get on with correcting the winter tour’s wrongs Cook began 2014 under severe pressure, resigning as ODI captain to focus on the Test team.
By the summer, Cook had arrived at the Ageas Bowl seeking a first century in 14 months. After a moment of levity in the first Test when he picked up a maiden Test wicket after bowling a wrong-un to Ishant Sharma to snatch at and be caught behind.
Cook batted his way to a 231-ball innings falling an agonising 5 runs short of a century. Taking the decision to bat on a seamer-friendly wicket when winning the toss typifies Cook as a character; he wants to prove people wrong.
