ROOM AT THE TOP
Cook’s retirement leaves opener slot up for grabs, but Root will stay at No.4 and Moeen will bat third
ALL eyes will be on Alastair Cook at the Oval today, but by the end of the match the spotlight will be on Keaton Jennings and Moeen Ali.
While Cook bids farewell to Test cricket on his 159th consecutive appearance, Jennings and Ali need to show they deserve to retain their places in the top three.
Captain Joe Root gave neither Moeen (right) nor opener Jennings any reassurances of their places beyond this fifth Test with India, which means more than one new batsman may be required.
Root has made it clear he will stay permanently at No.4 in the order, where he feels most comfortable, and has given Ali the keys to No.3 in an unchanged side from Southampton, where England sealed their series win.
The Ashes will be England’s next home series, but after a tricky summer for batting Root said: “We’ve not looked past this series. But Keaton has a great opportunity this week to show everyone how good he is. “It’s been a very challenging summer on what have been very different wickets here to what we’ll play on out there in Sri Lanka. Hopefully he can really lay a marker down. “Moeen has played exceptionally well for his county at three and he wants to do it, feels very comfortable there, but the way I left it with him as he’s going to be batting at No.3 for this game.
“His style of batting could get us off to a really good start and there’s a great chance of taking things on from there. With the winter coming up it might be the way to go, he gives us great options.”
Cook’s departure from the international stage is sure to be marked by a guard of honour or something similar, but Root has been told not to make a fuss.
“Cooky’s going to be very hard to replace,” said Root. “He’s had a huge influence on me and Jos Buttler summed it up best when he called him the most down-to-earth superstar you’ll ever meet.
“It will be quite an emotional week for him and he’ll be a massive loss to our dressing room, but I’m glad he can enjoy this game and we’ll do something spontaneously.”
Root has clearly developed a tough streak as skipper and bared his teeth when he revealed that Jonny Bairstow had been given back the keeper’s gloves from Buttler that he wanted so badly – along with a warning.
“I made it very clear if he’s going to be the Test-match wicketkeeper he is going to have to keep working really hard,” added Root.
“He might have been performing well for a long period of time, but he’s going to have to keep doing that.”
It is a strong statement from Root, who gives the impression he quite likes the added value that Buttler offers behind the stumps in directing the field and judging the decision review system.
But he has opted for the stick rather than the carrot on this occasion.