England can still do steady first-class batting despite ‘Bazball’ success, says batting legend Alastair Cook…but admits he’s been proven wrong by Ben Stokes’ side this winter
- Stokes and McCollum changed England with their action-packed style
- England’s record goalscorer impressed with ‘Bazball’ success
- Cook admits that the England bowlers proved him wrong in Pakistan this winter
Alastair Cook believes there is still room in the modern England side for the ancient batting traits that brought him nearly 12,500 Test runs.
England’s record goalscorer watched in admiration from afar as Ben Stokes and Brendon McCollum transformed an underperforming team with their all-out style.
But Cook feels there is still room for the kind of application that brought him to the top before he came out in the best possible way in 2018 with a century against India in his Test 161.
“I still think there’s still room in that England team for consistency at the top of the table,” Cook said ahead of the Essex County start of the new season on Thursday against Middlesex at Lord’s.
“Players who may not score as quickly but more often than not guarantee results in their favour.
England’s record run-scorer Alastair Cook (above) has scored nearly 12,500 Test runs
Ben Stokes and Brendon McCollum changed England with their action-packed style
I don’t think Ben and Brendon have said they don’t want to. But what they did set free players who might not have been quite capable of playing in the same way in Test cricket as they do in their own country. They said “This is how we play. If you are not sure what to do, play this way but if you are not sure, do it your way.”
Cook admits New England proved him wrong this winter more with the ball than the bat in his ability to take 20 wickets per Test to defeat Pakistan 3-0 in the kind of circumstances that prompted bowlers long to breed using the Dukes ball on the green. to distract.
“I remember saying ‘will the way they play in a certain setting work’ but I was wrong,” the former England captain admitted.
I think it comes down to a willingness to learn and a willingness not to be cut down by the flashes but also to a tremendous amount of skill.
Ben has done particularly well in the five Tests this winter and it’s been great to watch. How many of the best teams have won in Pakistan? Not much. So to do what they did the way they did it was extraordinary.
Cook never intended to continue playing as he was nearing 40 when he retired from Test cricket five years ago, but he will once again lead the way for his beloved Essex as they try to recreate, thanks in large part to him, the red-ball form he brought. They have the 2019 championship and the 2020 Bob Willis Cup titles.
A man who made his Essex debut in 2003 said: ‘I definitely surprised myself how long I played. It was great to be part of the team that won titles in 2019 and then Covid got in the way and it made me prolong my career on one hand.
“I always said to the coaches ‘If I can still enjoy it and add value I will continue with it.’ I know I won’t be playing for much longer because I’m 38, so why not enjoy it while I can?”
