Published: Sep 08, 2011, 11:20 AM (IST)
Edited: Aug 21, 2014, 08:59 PM (IST)
By Nishad Pai Vaidya
Alastair Cook’s blistering performance in the second One-Day International (ODI) at The Rose Bowl augurs well for the England limited-overs set-up. Stereotyped as a Test match player in the past, England’s new one-day captain is consistently proving his critics wrong since his appointment earlier this summer.
In the age of T20 where power has become the order of the day, Cook brings in a refreshing change with his orthodox, delicate and classical approach to the one-day game. He is not only justifying his place in the ODI team but is also strengthening the argument for his appointment as the man at the helm for England.
To be very fair to Cook, he wasn’t given many chances in ODIs to prove his mettle as a limited-overs batsman. Since his debut in England colours in 2006, Cook had played just 26 ODIs before being appointed as England’s full time one day skipper. Even though he played a few good knocks, they weren’t enough to cement a permanent place in the side. He led England in Bangladesh early last year and was the second-highest run scorer in the ODI series. In fact, he maintained a very good strike rate throughout that series and yet found himself out of England’s one-day plans once the team returned from Bangladesh. The presence of Andrew Strauss, Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen and Ian Bell in the top order may have been the biggest factor in Cook’s ouster.
When England announced three different captains for the three different formats, it was Cook’s appointment that caught most attention. Critics argued that since he wasn’t a part of England’s World Cup squad and hadn’t been in their one-day set-up since the tour of Bangladesh in 2010, he wasn’t the right man to succeed Andrew Strauss. Some critics even said that he wasn’t made for the shorter version and that he should concentrate on Test cricket.
When the England-Sri Lanka ODI series started in June, Cook had to prove his batting more than his captaincy. He is known to have a cool head on his shoulders and was expected to captain England some day in Test cricket, but the appointment for one-dayers was in question mainly because of being unfairly stereotyped. However, in the series against Sri Lanka he did brilliantly. Though he scored a hundred at Lord’s in the third ODI, his finest effort in the series was his quick-fire 95 off 75 balls in the fourth ODI at Nottingham.
The knock at Nottingham was the one that justified the decisions of the England selectors and put a strong point in front of his critics. Although he got the hundred at Lord’s he wasn’t very fluent as wickets kept falling around him and he had to temper his approach which didn’t allow him to play his shots. However, when England were chasing a paltry score at Nottingham, Cook had the license to express himself. There were the occasional unorthodox shots, but it was evident that he wasn’t slogging as they were delicately played.
A man of the series award against Sri Lanka should have been enough to silence the critics, but they didn’t leave him even when the ongoing series against India started on Friday. It is almost as if he needs to be more consistent than the others to tell the world that he deserves to play one-day cricket and lead England’s charge towards the 2015 World Cup. Thus, it was important for him to continue the form he showed against Sri Lanka into the ODIs against India. His knock at The Rose Bowl was very similar to the one he played at Nottingham earlier in the summer but it came when he was required to score quickly. Against Sri Lanka he didn’t have the pressure of the run-rate as the target was small but at Southampton he needed to push the tempo in the rain reduced match.
Cook’s approach to batting in ODIs is reminiscent of Rahul Dravid and Mahela Jayawardena. Like, Cook, Dravid was labelled as a Test player early in his career but revived himself to become one of the highest run-scorers in ODIs. He didn’t change his technique or style of play but merely showed increased positivity at the crease. The dynamism that Dravid displayed is visible in Cook as well.
There are shades of Jayawardena, too, in Cook’s play. Jayawardena is a modern great who has done brilliantly in all three formats. However, one never sees him slogging in the limited overs games and yet manages to score at a very good rate. He may play the odd unorthodox shot but it is played with delicate hands and not much power. Cook may not be as elegant as Jayawardena, but he uses his talent to time the ball which is similar to the Sri Lankan great.
Cook has started off very well since his comeback into the England ODI team and should strive to maintain the standard he has set for himself. If he can do even half of what Dravid and Jayawardena have done for their respective sides, England would be well served in limited-overs cricket.
(Nishad Pai Vaidya, a 20-year-old law student, is a club and college-level cricketer. His teachers always complain, “He knows the stats and facts of cricket more than the subjects we teach him.”)
