Given this is the first time since 2012 that Alastair Cook has approached an English season without the burden of the England captaincy, and the first time since his international debut in 2006 that the Test summer does not start until July, one might expect him to be discomfited by the novelty.
But a little under two months since relinquishing the leadership of the national side Cook says the buildup to the campaign has been little different from the norm. There has been no sense of a great weight lifting from the shoulders. The decision to leave the captaincy behind “wasn’t based on how I felt day to day”, he says, and familiar faces at Essex have eased what might have been a tricky transition.
“It’s been great,” says Cook of pre-season preparations with his county. “That’s part of why it doesn’t feel too different. Every time I’ve gone back to Essex over the last five years I haven’t been England captain here, I’ve simply been one of the lads and it’s no different. That’s why things haven’t really changed on that side of things.”
There have been moments of realisation – “Because it’s such a big role to give away and it was such an honour to do, of course there are moments of … not regret, it’s not, it’s just knowing you’re not England captain any more” – but the impact has perhaps been softened by the whims of the international calendar. Two ODI series, a Twenty20 series and the Champions Trophy arrive before the first Test against South Africa. As Cook says: “July seems quite a long way away.”
Before then there is the potential for three months of county cricket for Cook. He has been made available for the three opening County Championship games of the season and Essex’s first three One-Day Cup games. The first ball he faces in the Championship this season could be delivered by Jimmy Anderson.
Haseeb Hameed may be in that Lancashire side, though he picked up a finger injury while batting against Cambridge MCCU over the weekend – Lancashire confirmed on Monday that Hameed avoided a broken hand in the incident and “will be assessed over the coming days” – and both he and Keaton Jennings recorded better averages as openers in the India series than the captain at the other end. With competition for places at the top of the England order looking more robust than it has done for a while – Hameed and Jennings were Cook’s 10th and 11th opening partners respectively since the retirement of Andrew Strauss in 2012 – the former captain knows early-season runs are required.
“You’re always under pressure, that’s what life is about,” says Cook. “That is what playing international cricket or being a professional sportsman is. You’re there to score runs. If you don’t do that over a period of time, people will look elsewhere. That hasn’t changed and that’ll never change, whether it’s myself or Jimmy Anderson, you’ve got to play to a certain level to be picked for England or even Essex. You can’t worry too much about that – you have to worry about the next ball coming down.”
The likelihood, though, is that Cook will walk out to open for England at Lord’s having watched a team-mate contest the toss for the first time since Strauss did so against the same opposition at the same ground in August 2012. Cook is confident he will not be the ghost at Joe Root’s feast – “A lot will be made of it, there always is, it’s a good story to write about but I think it’ll be absolutely fine in terms of our relationship” – and is hopeful of making a smooth transition back to the rank and file.
“I hope I do. I think I come back to Essex and fit in pretty well but until you get there you don’t know,” he says. “Hopefully it’ll be absolutely fine. Hopefully I can support Joe whichever way he’d like me to support him. I feel like I can get back in the troops and get on with it and hopefully score some runs and help England win cricket games which ultimately is what everyone wants to see.”
Before that there is the small matter of helping his newly promoted county side adapt to life in the First Division. “Historically it’s tough for the promoted sides to stay up,” he says. “There seems to be a bit of a gulf developing between the two divisions. We’ve got a very strong batting lineup – some quality batters will miss out. But looking at the squad, whichever way the selectors go, we’ve got a very close-knit squad who are ready to do what they did last year and leave everything on the field.”
Alastair Cook was speaking during NatWest CricketForce at Copdock CC. Now in its 17th year, NatWest CricketForce has grown into one of the largest sports volunteering initiatives in the UK, with more than 2,200 local clubs registering this year. Find out more at natwest.com/cricket
