ALASTAIR COOK CONCERNED BY ICC, ECB ATTITUDE TOWARDS TESTS

LONDON:

Former England captain Alastair Cook has questioned the ICC’s desire to protect Test cricket and is concerned the ECB’s new 100-ball format means it is not one of their priorities either. Test-match specialist Cook England’s leading run scorer in the longest format - last featured in a one-day international for England in 2014, while he has not made a T20 appearance since 2009. The ECB this month announced the introduction of a domestic competition consisting of 100 deliveries for each team from 2020. With plenty of focus being put on the limited-overs arena, Cook is worried that ensuring Tests also remain popular is being forgotten. Asked if he thought the ICC and ECB care about Test cricket, the left-hander told BBC Radio 5 Live’s Sportsweek: “Ultimately I don’t think they do at the moment. I don’t know that (is the case) for the ECB, because a lot of revenue comes in from Test cricket in our country. We’re different to every other nation. We’ve got unbelievable support in our country for Test cricket everywhere. “I think we are very different and that’s the problem I see, that we see a very different side of Test cricket to the rest of the world. But as we know money does speak and it’s going to be very interesting in the next 10 years.” On how to persuade children about the merits of Test cricket, Cook added: “The question is, ‘Does cricket want that?’ “

NRR*

6 2 12 0.514 5 2 10 0.538 5 2 10 0.228 3 4 6 0.062 3 4 6 -0.751 2 5 4 0.033 2 4 4 -0.446 2 5 4 -0.482 *after SRH v RR match