AXE FOR COOK IN SHOCK U-TURN

ENGLAND performed a spectacular U-turn last night by sacking Alastair Cook as their one-day captain less than two months before the World Cup. Only five days after they insisted that Cook would lead them in the showpiece one-day tournament, England dramatically changed their minds and ditched the man they have invested so much in over the last year. Eoin Morgan will now lead England — who join Scotland in Pool A — at the World Cup, which starts in February and will be held in Australia and New Zealand. Cook ultimately paid the price for a prolonged run of poor 50-over form, which has seen him average just 30 runs over the last two years at a pedestrian strike-rate of 73 and lead England to five one-day defeats in their last six series. Yet it still came as a shock when it emerged last night that England were going to make a last-gasp change at the top because they have stuck with their man through thick and thin during a traumatic year for English cricket. Last Sunday, England coach Peter Moores, who has emphatically backed Cook since replacing Andy Flower in April, said ahead of England’s last one-day international in Sri Lanka: ‘If you ask my opinion, Cook will be captain at the World Cup.’ Then on Monday, just before England’s last defeat in their 5-2 series loss, managing director Paul Downton added: ‘I would be extremely surprised if he’s not captain at the World Cup.’ Now, with England leaving for a triangular series against Australia and India ahead of the World Cup in just over a fortnight, the selectors have risked embarrassment by flying in the face of that faith they showed in the Essex batsman. They ultimately reached their decision because of Cook’s inability to make a single decent score in the seven-match series in Sri Lanka even though they knew conditions there were never going to suit him. And the sense of England being in a state of one-day turmoil is added to by the fact that they will replace Cook with a batsman in Morgan who has a worse one-day record throughout this year than the man he succeeds.