COOK: TOUR FLOPS CAN RISE AGAIN... I DID!
ALASTAIR COOK has sent a message of hope to England’s batting flops.
From being 1-0 up in the Test series in India, England were beaten 3-1 after their batsmen misfired time and again.
But former England skipper Cook, who embarks on his 19th domestic season on Thursday when Essex play Worcestershire, insists that his story can be a lesson to them.
Cook feared his career at the highest level was over during the 2010 home Test series against Pakistan, but batted his way through that crisis – and ultimately went on to become England’s all-time top scorer in Test cricket.
Cook (below) said: “I tell everyone, ‘Don’t throw in the towel’.”
He recalled: “I was sitting in the hotel drinking beer on my own when I was four not out overnight against Pakistan.
“The team psychologist came over and I told him, ‘I’m about to play my last Test innings’.
“I couldn’t buy a run, and I was thinking, ‘Nothing matters’. I went on and got a hundred that saved my career. It was down to luck, and then I started to find some rhythm.
“I went from sitting in a bar on my own, to sitting there with a medal [for being Player of the Series in the Ashes in Australia that winter].
“I showed that you can turn it around if you keep doing the right things over and over again.”
Cook, 36, who retired from international cricket in 2018, admits he was “disappointed” watching the Test series in India.
He said: “I couldn’t quite work out the rotation policy. Maybe I read it wrong and we will get the rewards in terms of the players being fresher for the Ashes.
“I just thought England got it wrong with Jos Buttler leaving when we were 1-0 up to play in the IPL.
“You don’t get many opportunities to win a Test series away from home.
“The IPL was never on my radar, but to me, the Tests are more important.”