Cook: I'll do it my own way
England's stand-in Test captain Alastair Cook is hoping to lay down a marker on the tour of Bangladesh
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Saturday, 13, Feb 2010 03:11
By Alistair Potter at Lord's.
England's stand-in Test skipper Alastair Cook has vowed to bring his own style to the captaincy on the upcoming tour of Bangladesh.
At 25, Cook will become the youngest England captain since Ian Botham in the early 1980s when he leads his country out against the Test minnows.
And the Essex star, who admits speaking at length to batting mentor Graham Gooch about how to take on his new role in charge of the side, has said he hopes to put his own stamp on the team on the sub-continent.
"I've got to do it my own way, I can't keep asking too many people when I'm out there on the field," he said.
"Obviously I'll seek counsel and talk to the rest of the guys away from the matches, but if I can't do it my way I know I won't be doing it well enough, for long enough."
Strauss' decision to rest up during the Bangladesh series has come in for criticism from certain quarters, with certain pundits including Australian legend Shane Warne calling it 'a belittling of Test cricket'.
But Cook defended his fellow opener, saying it was Strauss' job as captain to make the right call.
"As captain you have to make decisions for the benefit of yourself and the team and you have to commit to your gut feelings," he said.
"That's something I'm hoping to learn while I'm captain and I believe that's what Straussy has done here.
"He didn't make the decision overnight - and it was a proactive one. He wants to come back refreshed and ready but it wasn't easy for him because he's a hugely proud man.
"He knows it will benefit him in the long run and he knows in his heart he's made the right decision.
"It gives me confidence - and inspires confidence in the rest of the dressing room - that he feels he can leave the team in good hands while he's away."
Since he was announced as interim Test captain last month, Cook said he has been trying to get away from the game as much as possible to "recharge his batteries" ready for the Bangladesh tour.
However, he said he is now back into the fold and practising again - as well as picking the brains of his two closest confidants in the England backroom team, head coach Andy Flower and batting coach Graham Gooch.
"I've spoken a lot to Andy about how it's going to work," he said.
"We've got a good relationship from our Essex days, and that team-mate relationship has now become a player-coach relationship and it's good.
"I've also spoken a lot to Goochy about batting, but also the captaincy - asking him what it was like for him and how he approached certain situations. He's a good guy to have there."
Cook also said he isn't worried by the prospect of adjusting between team member to team leader, and then back again when Strauss returns to the fold later in the year.
"I feel there's a lot of confidence in me from the rest of the guys - I've got a good relationship with everyone in dressing room and that won't change when I'm captain," he continued.
"Obviously there are differences and sometimes you have to make decisions and discuss them with people, but overall it won't change."
The view from outside the camp is that perhaps Cook's inexperienced could be tested on the Bangladesh tour, but that the England hierarchy want to see how the batsman copes with the added burden of the captaincy.
Several commentators have urged caution over the development of Cook - still a relative youngster in captaincy and batting terms.
But the man himself dismissed that view: "Outside impressions don't really matter to me, I'm fully focused on the next four weeks.
"I'm really not bothered how I sit from the outside - I know I have dressing room and that's the main thing."
Cook admitted to some "mental and physical fatigue" from back-to-back Test and one-day series' against big rivals Australia and South Africa in 2009 and earlier this year.
But he said the challenge of taking the side on a second tour abroad in as many months was something he would relish.
"Being the England captain is a 24/7 role, and I'm about to find out just how big a role it actually is," he conceded.
"Three series back-to-back does takes its toll, but it's a great chance for us, as a team, to develop and a chance for others to step up as leaders."
So, does he have a personal crusade to set himself up as Strauss' ultimate successor?
"I've got ambitions, certainly, but I'm only looking at this as a six-week job," he said with a steely look.
"But," he added with a grin, "if the selectors turn to me again in two or three years' time or whatever it is, so be it."