Decisions, decisions. As England captain there is no escape; you keep having to make them. For Alastair Cook at least two important ones are on the horizon. What will be the name of his second daughter? What will be the name of his latest – and ninth – opening Test partner?
After a solitary net on Tuesday, while the rest of the players had a day off, Cook was unable to reveal these decisions before the first Test against Bangladesh beginning on Thursday. Regarding the identity of his opening partner he gave the impression no conclusion has been reached. Since his whistle-stop journey home to be present for the birth of his second child he has not had much time to consult with his lieutenants.
“Clearly I’m in the dark selection-wise. You get so much more of a feeling looking at a player in the nets or in a game. Unfortunately all I have got to go on is scorecards,” Cook said. The choice is between Haseeb Hameed, the Lancastrian, whose method evokes memories of the young Cook, and Ben Duckett, who does not.
“It is a real contrast in character, styles and left- and right-handed,” Cook said. “It will be interesting to hear Trevor Bayliss’s views and those of Stuart Broad and Joe Root as well. I am quite looking forward to that meeting.” Oddly enough Bayliss has been stalling a little as well, pointing out he will have to discuss it with Cook.
It is a fundamental decision however they reach it and it will probably be made on the eve of the Test rather than on the first morning. The expectation is Duckett will get the nod. He has scored the majority of his runs for Northamptonshire as an opening batsman and has been in excellent form on tour. If the selectors opt for Hameed as Cook’s partner, then Duckett is still likely to play, occupying the less familiar No4 berth.
Cook’s buildup has been unorthodox, hectic yet justifiable. He has proven himself to be a teak-hard international cricketer over the years but he did not bother to hide a range of conflicting emotions before concluding: “As everyone knows it has been a fairly emotional few days but the most important thing is mum and baby are doing well. It doesn’t make you feel like the best husband and father in the world, leaving only 18 hours after the birth but I’m here now and have to get stuck in. There is no point moping around. It is a very privileged position to captain or play for your country so that is part of the reason we made the decision as a family for me to come back.”
Cook acknowledges this has not been the best preparation for a Test. “I’m not going to be absolutely perfect but there have been other times when I have flown halfway around the world and done all right so I wonder whether I can do it again”. This was a modest reference to his Test debut against India in Nagpur in 2006 when he was flown in from the Caribbean – not a straightforward journey – as an emergency replacement. He announced himself with 60 and 104 not out and since then has never been dropped as a Test cricketer. Meanwhile he has missed only one match through injury – in Mumbai on that 2006 tour.
In Chittagong he will become England’s most capped Test player when embarking on his 134th match, overtaking Alec Stewart. It will be his 132nd consecutive appearance. “If I am brutally honest over the last two weeks the record has not been in my mind and I did have to be reminded about it but I would never have thought this possible in 2006.” Cricketers often express disdain for records – unconvincingly – but in this instance Cook’s forgetfulness is credible.
He may play 200 times for England but he knows the perils of looking too far ahead and this may be a raw subject at the moment. “The more times you pack your bags to leave your family at home you do question how long you can keep going but playing and captaining England is something I’m very proud of”.
On Thursday he will be congratulating a minimum of one debutant and a maximum of three, which was how it was when Cook started in Nagpur (Monty Panesar and Ian Blackwell being the others). It is possible, rather than probable, Hameed and Duckett may begin their Test careers and it is anticipated England will select three spinners, the third one coming from Surrey. So Zafar Ansari could also make his debut, though it remains more likely Gareth Batty will be selected. For younger readers it should be pointed out this would not constitute a debut for Batty. He last played a Test for England in June 2005 against Bangladesh in a cooler climate – at Chester-le-Street.
Expect even more debutants in a Bangladesh side who have not played a Test for 14 months. These could include Sabbir Rahman, an aggressive cricketer who has excelled with the bat against a white ball and who helped Jos Buttler on his way in the second ODI: the fast bowler, Kamrul Islam Rabbi, and an 18-year-old off-spinner, Mehedi Hasan.
Generally in Chittagong fast bowlers head for the ground warily and with a touch of resignation. Sometimes the ball turns but it seldom seams or bounces much. The Bangladesh squad contain two pacemen and four spinners, which gives England an idea of what to expect.
