Alastair is the glue that holds it together

ALASTAir COOK remains absolutely vital to this young England side, particularly given the vulnerability of the top order. There is so much flair in this England batting line-up through the likes of Joe root, Ben Stokes, Jonny Bairstow and Moeen Ali but they need someone around whom to bat. There is no one better suited to that role than Cook.

what i particularly like about him is that Cook never changes as a person or as a batsman, as we saw yet again at Edgbaston yesterday with the latest of his record-breaking mammoth innings for England.

Cook spoke of his admiration for root at the end of day one of this first Test with a hint of wishing he could bat like the new skipper. But the crucial thing about Cook is that he never tries to be something he is not. There are players who will try to keep up with someone at the other end, or play shots that their team-mates are attempting, but Cook just gets on with his job and plays to his immense strengths.

This is the way he plays, this is the way he has always played and even though he has made the odd tweak to his game over the years, he is not going to change now because his methods work so well for him.

i’ve spent a lot of time this summer analysing the techniques of players like Keaton Jennings, gary Ballance and Tom westley, and the fact is Cook has issues just like the rest of them.

But because he knows his game and because he is so strong mentally he does not leave himself vulnerable in the areas where he is a little suspect, just outside off-stump or with the big booming drive.

i talked to Cook last summer when he was on the verge of reaching 10,000 Test runs and pointed out how phenomenal his record against spin was. His response was that it wasn’t bad for someone with only Linchpin: Cook made 243 three shots against spin. That pretty much sums up Cook’s batting. He shuns any shots that he is not expert at and his game does not change whether he is on one or 201. He becomes a machine and his hunger for runs remains as insatiable as ever.

You could see immediately this season in the way he played for Essex that Cook had felt a huge weight taken off his shoulders by handing over the captaincy to root. it has given him a perfect work-life balance now.

Essex have been good for him and Cook is desperate to be there if and when they win the championship this season because he knows it could be his only chance. So i sincerely hope that, if the big moment comes, it will be when he is playing for them rather than on England duty or resting ahead of the Ashes.

i think he will go on for a long time at the top of England’s order. There is no ego to him. There are no problems in playing on under another leader in root.

Cook is one of the fittest cricketers on the circuit and root could not have a better senior professional to turn to than Cook, just as he has the perfect vice-captain in Stokes. He remains integral to England’s Ashes hopes this winter.

we haven’t seen Cook and root bat together in too many big partnerships and their stand of 248 here was a perfect demonstration of their contrasting but equally effective talents. Long may that continue.