IT’S CRUNCH TIME FOR COOK
A double century in Melbourne can’t mask his poor form — he needs runs against Pakistan
Alastair Cook has risen to every challenge during his record- breaking career but he goes into this week’s first test needing runs against Pakistan more than at any time in 12 hugely successful years.
it is testament to Cook’s powers that he will equal allan Border’s record with his 153rd consecutive test appearance when he walks out at lord’s, but the question now is how many more will there be?
Only when illness stopped Cook earning what would have been his second cap has he missed a test since he was flown from an ‘a’ tour in West indies, along with a certain Jimmy anderson, to score a hundred on debut in Nagpur.
Cook has never been dropped but his omnipresence at the top of England’s test order will be a big issue for new national selector Ed smith should he fail to make an impact at lord’s and in a second test at Headingley.
it may appear premature to say such a great batsman is playing for his future now when he has two double centuries in the last year, at a time when most of England’s top order are struggling to even reach three figures.
Yet the problem for Cook is that those two feasts have come at a time of famine.
since making 130 at rajkot at the start of his last series as captain in late 2016, Cook has reached 50 only three times aside from those ‘daddy’ doubles against West indies at Edgbaston and australia in Melbourne.
Worryingly, there have been 21 scores under 20 in that time, while his return of only 23 runs in four innings against New Zealand, dismissed each time by trent Boult, made England’s most recent test series Cook’s worst in terms of statistics. and another worldclass left-armer, Mohammad amir, is waiting.
Cook, of course, has been here before against Pakistan. it was widely believed the end, at least temporarily, would have come for Cook had he not scored a hundred against them at the Oval eight years ago. Outwardly, Cook, at 33, seems as driven as ever to prolong his career. ‘there’s been no difference in Cooky to last year or how he has ever been,’ said a man who has played with Cook since 2005 — his Essex team-mate James Foster.
‘He’s great fun to be around and offers loads in the changing room. it’s not like when he comes back to Essex he goes in his shell and just worries about himself. He seems as hungry and motivated as he’s ever been.
‘He’s world class in the way he goes about his business. You can’t tell any difference when he is scoring loads of runs for England or going through a lean patch. But he still trains just as hard as he’s always done and is absolutely the same. He remains a beast of a man in terms of his mental strength.’
that strength has always enabled Cook to overcome his limitations technically and he will need every drop of it to ensure his footwork against amir — as long as a knee condition does not restrict the paceman — and Pakistan’s other left- armer, rahat ali, is good enough against a moving ball.
‘amir will be the one to test everybody,’ said Foster, who played with Pakistan’s spearhead at Chelmsford last season. ‘He’s a
world-class bowler and possibly the best in terms of pure skill that i’ve ever kept to.
‘He can swing the ball both ways at pace so it doesn’t matter who you are, it’s going to be hard work at lord’s. it’s an interesting challenge for Cooky but that’s what he’s always thrived on. He always rises to it.
‘it’s just up to him how long he wants to keep going for because it does get harder when you get older. i just know he’s still very focused and driven about his cricket. Only time will tell when he says, “i’m done”, but everything about him suggests that is some way off yet. He seems to be in a very good space.’ there was a revealing glimpse of the space Cook is in before the New Zealand series when he sat with a small group of reporters during England’s low- key warm-up game in Hamilton. a relaxed Cook admitted that there had been some ‘dark times’ during the ashes earlier that winter and intimated that his double hundred in the fourth test at the MCG, which moved him to tears when he made it, had saved his England career.
Yet just a couple of days later he was taking issue with the interpretation of his words as an indication that he considered quitting, making it very clear that he does want to go on for some time yet.
Cook has scored more than 12,000 test runs and probably needs at least another three or four years at the top if he is to beat sachin tendulkar’s word record of 15,921.
THE former captain will tell you he does not think about figures but deep down he knows exactly where he stands in the pantheon and can tell you if pushed what he has averaged in each of the last few years.
if he follows the example of his mentor Graham Gooch, who was at his outstanding best in his later years, it is conceivable Cook could at least challenge sachin as the last of a dying breed of traditional batsmen.
and such is his stature that Cook will still probably jump before he is pushed, as he will not want to hang around past his sell-by date.
Until then he will relish being written off because he will use that as motivation to prove there is life in the old dog yet.
But he needs to prove sooner rather than later that the day when he will retire to the family farm that has long been his release is some way off yet.