Alastair Cook has admitted that he had been considering resigning as England’s captain throughout the summer, revealing he decided to stay on the morning after regaining the Ashes last Sunday. Cook, who presided over England’s disastrous 5-0 Ashes whitewash in 2013-14, began the summer under further scrutiny after a disappointing series in West Indies and the subsequent departure of Peter Moores.
Despite making a stoic 96 at Lord’s, where England were beaten, his contributions with the bat in this Ashes series have been underwhelming, 223 at an average of 31.85, but the 30-year-old is determined to continue as England captain following victory at Trent Bridge which sealed Australia’s fate.
“I pretty much decided last Sunday,’ Cook told the Mail on Sunday. “I woke up and immediately started thinking about trying to win the Ashes 4-1 and then about what we will have to do to win against Pakistan. It came quickly to me to start planning ahead and that told me that I probably wanted to carry on a bit longer.
“At the start of this summer I didn’t know what was going to happen and I wasn’t sure if I would continue beyond the Ashes. But while you’ve still got the opportunity to be England captain and you’ve still got more to give, which I now feel I have, then you need to carry on and give it your all.”
