ALASTAIR Cook began his 150th Test match with tributes for that achievement and concerns about how long he can continue competing for our attention. His first innings failure will have done nothing to quieten the debate, but whatever the future holds, we wish him well. He once told me that the main motivation behind his desire to succeed was fear of failure; something I also heard from Andrew Flintoff. I thought then that there was something very sad about that state of affairs. I still do.

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