Alastair Cook has done all the right things in preparation for his first full series as England captain
Andrew Miller in Dhaka27-Feb-2010Alastair Cook has done all the right things in preparation for his
first full series as England captain. He’s been in the runs with two
half-centuries in the warm-ups in Fatullah, and he’s captained the
side to a pair of trouble-free victories. At Mirpur on Sunday, he will
lead them out for the first time in a 50-over contest, fully aware of
the pitfalls that await against a Bangladesh side that know, just
occasionally, how to put together a matchwinning performance.Cook’s only previous experience of the England captaincy was a
chastening one – he took over the role at short notice in South Africa
in November, when Paul Collingwood pulled out of the second Twenty20
at Centurion, and was left gesturing with the futility of a Dhaka
traffic cop as Loots Bosman and Graeme Smith powered their side to an
incredible total of 241 for 6.Three months down the line, however, and this time Cook is ready for
the challenge that awaits. Despite not having played in an ODI since
November 2008, he looked, on the eve of the series, like a man who was
growing in authority – even if, as Stuart Broad pointed out, he has
yet to vacate his seat among the lads at the back of the team bus.”It’s a hugely proud moment for me,” said Cook. “I’m nervous and
excited. It’s a challenge, but the night before the first warm-up I
was really nervous. Once I got through that game I felt far more
settled in terms of being comfortable in field positions, and little
things. That game was the start of my captaincy proper in terms of
ordering the lads around and making the decisions. In an international
game there’s obviously more pressure, but a week into it I feel more
comfortable.”The Twenty20 game [in South Africa] I only found out I’d captain
three hours before the game with Colly pulling up with his back,” he
recalled. “It was very chaotic that whole day and the lads were just
trying to help. Now I feel more comfortable in the role and they feel
more comfortable in me. These things take time. It was a mad day and a
mad game, and it does not help that we got panned.Cook’s personal excitement ought to go a long way towards squashing
any tendency towards complacency that might otherwise have set in
against their unfancied opponents. “Anyone can beat anyone on any day,
but if we turn up just thinking we are going to win, then we are going
to come very much unstuck. We’ve got to respect them – we are
respecting them, because they are an excellent side – and we’ve got to
play better cricket than them.””The biggest lesson from this week is definitely sticking to your
instincts,” he added. “You’re only judged on the decisions you make.
You’re only judged on the right or wrong ones. You’ll never know
because hindsight is the easiest place to captain. You never quite
know the right answer, but the only way you can find out is by
results.Though the chance to lead the side in Fatullah was important in taking
the edge off Cook’s nerves ahead of Sunday’s match, perhaps the most
important aspect of the build-up period has been the chance to tighten
that all-important captain-coach bond with Andy Flower. And, having
played alongside each other during Cook’s early days as a professional
at Essex, the pair have had a head-start in that regard.”I’ve known Andy since I was 18, I’ve grown up all my playing days
with him and when I came into the England team he was assistant
coach,” he said. “He’s fantastic, a true thinker of the game and it’s
a pleasure to work with him. We’re making strides on building that
relationship as captain and coach, these things do take time and
hopefully we will get the chance to work more on that and improve as
we go on.”Although Cook was not able to take a proper look at the wicket until
England practiced under the floodlights later in the evening, there
seems little doubt about what they can expect. Bangladesh’s coach,
Jamie Siddons, stressed that his team play at their best in their own
conditions, which means that the Dhaka track is likely to be something
of a pancake.”I imagine it will be a very typical subcontinent wicket,” said Cook.
“It will be slow, I imagine it might turn a little bit, but I’m not
sure it will change too much in 100 overs. It will be a fair wicket
with something in it for the batters to start with, but with the
bowlers coming into it when the ball goes soft. Obviously Bangladesh
conditions are totally different to what we are used to at home, but
we spent this last week getting used to that, both here and in Dubai,
and hopefully we can go out and play some good cricket.”Craig Kieswetter will make his international debut on Sunday•Getty Images
Either way, England will have to be on their guard, particularly
against a sizeable Bangladeshi spin contingent lead, of course, by the
captain, Shakib Al Hasan, who is currently rated as one of the leading
allrounders in the world. He will doubtless pose a challenge to the
debutant Craig Kieswetter, who is certain to open alongside Cook, and
it is highly likely that Matt Prior will also feature, although it
remains to be seen which of the two will be asked to keep wicket.”There’s a possibility of playing two wicketkeepers,” said Cook.
“Kiesy’s come in and that Twenty20 [against the Lions] made everyone
stand up and take notice. To come in on his England debut and play
with so much composure and not seem fazed. The way he went about it,
not the runs he scored, has impressed a lot of us. He will be opening
the batting. He deserves that with the runs he’s got. I’ve been very
impressed with him.”Prior’s retention means no place for Jonathan Trott, whose stock has
plummeted since he became an instant England hero with his debut
century against Australia at The Oval back in August. A tailing-off of
form in South Africa was couple with an unexpectedly anxious demeanour
at the crease, but Cook was sure that he’d come back stronger for the
experience.”Trotty’s a tough character and he proved that in the Australia
series,” Cook said. “He started really well at the start of the South
Africa tour before fading. That was his first international tour as an
England player and it was a long and tough one too. It’s a different
angle playing three months on tour to county cricket. The things he
learnt from South Africa will help in good stead – in terms of
managing intensity as a player, to prolong himself for three months.”Cook himself is coming back into the limited-overs set-up after a
spell on the sidelines, but he believes he is a much more complete
player than the slightly one-dimensional character who was last seen
in coloured clothing. Extensive work with Graham Gooch at the end of
the English summer resulted in a tweaked technique, and Cook himself
credits the domestic Twenty20 Cup for coaxing him out of his shell.”I’m desperate to show to people I can play one-day cricket,” he said.
“Last summer when I played Twenty20 cricket for Essex it really helped
and in that form you just express yourself. You don’t have time to
think about failure, and you just go out and belt it. I was playing
shots I didn’t think I could play and for three weeks I suddenly
thought: ‘I can!’ When I went back to Essex after the Ashes, I scored
two hundreds, and it’s amazing what confidence does.”Such sentiments might apply equally to England’s opponents, who
believe that the gulf between the sides is narrower than at any time
in their previous eight ODI meetings. “They are a full international
side and we’ve got to respect that,” said Cook. “They’ve got some
excellent players without a doubt, but it’s up to us as the English
side to play better cricket than them.”We’ve improved as players of spin, and we’ve played against the best
in the world and done well. Obviously it’s going to be tough here,
Bangladesh have some excellent spinners, but we as players, as
batters, we have to score the runs against them.”