Has captain Cook run out of time?
Under-pressure England skipper, Alastair Cook, has admitted that he would have to 'wait and see' if the England Cricket Board (ECB) retain him as captain ahead of the tri-series in Australia, also featuring World Champions, India.
Cook's miserable run of form in ODIs in 2014 has garnered significant media mileage. His meagre returns of 523 runs at 27.52 in 20 ODIs tell only half the story. Another disappointing showing in the seven-match series in Sri Lanka condemned England to their fourth ODI series loss of the year, prompting former England players and pundits to call for the skipper's axing.
"I'm incredibly hungry to do well. No one has any divine right to play for England, and my performances this year in the one-day game haven't been good enough," Cook said. "But, it's not been for a lack of effort, or being willing to try to improve. I don't like not seeing a job through - and I see a lot of potential in this team," he added.
Despite having more than a fair share of detractors, Cook continues to have the confidence of ECB's Managing Director, Paul Downton. " He's horribly out of form at the moment but, as we all know with form, that can turn. I would be extremely surprised if he wasn't the captain at the World Cup," Downton was quoted as saying by BBC Sport.
However, according to England coach, Peter Moores, the Cook conundrum would be reviewed by the selection committee, also featuring James Whitaker, Angus Fraser and Mick Newell, later this week. The committee is expected to announce a 16-man squad for the tri-series in Australia on Saturday.
Cook, however, chose to be pragmatic about the situation. "Whether the selectors still think I'm the right man, we'll wait and see. If the decision went that way (removed as captain), then I can't do too much about it. If that happens, I can have no complaints," he summed up.
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