The day you quit, a piece of you is gone

ONLY Alastair Cook will know if he’s still got the hunger and appetite to carry on as England captain, and the energy to drive the team forward.

If he still feels the same way he did when he started, if every defeat hurts him as much now as it did then, I believe he should carry on. But if any part of him feels as if he’s taking the job for granted, he should have a serious think about handing it to Joe Root. It’s not a job you do lightly.

Cook’s always been his own man, but if I can offer one piece of advice, it would be this: the day you stop being England captain is the day a piece of you is taken away for ever.

It’s a massive hole in your career, even if you’ve chosen to give the job up. It may feel like a weight off your shoulders, but when you next walk out on that field and people are talking about Root’s England team, it can be hard to get your head around.

He also has to consider whether this is the right moment for Root. I had a gut feeling when I stepped down in 2003 after one Test against South Africa that Michael Vaughan was the man to take England forward. I was mentally drained and knew Vaughan would make them a better team.

I know Cook said in his press conference that Root was ready, but there is no guarantee that he is. My feeling is that England shouldn’t burden their best batsman with the captaincy just yet.

Ideally, Cook will carry on until Sydney in January 2018 and win the Ashes Down Under again, which given the way Australia are right now will be an easier task than winning in India. It would be the crowning glory for him as captain. He also has to remember that England’s next Test after Chennai is in July, so he has plenty of time to recuperate back home. The last thing he wants to do is make a quick decision, then realise in February that he’s still got the energy for the job after all.

Luckily he has a good man in Andrew Strauss, England’s director of cricket, to talk things through with. Strauss has been there, and there’s no way he’s going to just rubber-stamp Cook because he’s his old mate and opening partner. He’s going to make sure that whatever decision Cook reaches is the right decision for the team. Strauss will also know that captains have a natural cycle in the job. It happened to Mike Atherton, me, Vaughan and Strauss himself.

And history shows us it’s dangerous to write off Alastair Cook — as a batsman and a captain. He has incredible strength and toughness, and however much he’s feeling the heat, a few months off may be enough to rejuvenate him.

But it all boils down to one crucial point. If Cook, deep down, still feels excited by the thought of going to Australia in a year’s time and retaining those Ashes, then he has to carry on. If not, it is time for someone else. He, and he alone, will know what the right course of action will be.