Usually a certain melancholy descends upon the camp when news that the captain has been banned filters through. But that was not the case as England’s players skipped on to their coach for the five-hour journey back to Colombo.
The reason for their perkiness was not that they were indifferent to their captain’s plight or indeed delighted by his imminent absence. No, it was just that the England players and management were so relieved to have recorded their first ODI victory on the tour; hence the spring in their step.
Cook will miss Sunday’s ODI in Colombo because of England’s slow over-rate in the last one, which almost prompted the match to become a TDI (another 14 minutes of play in Hambantota and it would have been a two-day international). Cook pleaded guilty to the charge and was fined 20% of his match fee while his players were charged 10%.
Peter Moores was sanguine about Cook’s ban and England did not contest it. “The umpires and referee are sensible people,” he said. “It was tight and we went over time. At least it gives him [Cook] a clean slate – a bit like a booking in football. But it is frustrating for him.” Moores then confirmed that Eoin Morgan, currently in a deeper batting trough than Cook, would take over as captain for Sunday’s match.
At this point it would have been neat if Cook had wandered in to the room to confirm proudly that, having studied David Beckham’s career as England captain, he had deliberately provoked a “booking” so that the penalty could be imposed at a convenient time for the team. But he did not.
Instead Moores acknowledged that the time-keeping issue “could not be fudged. We have to bowl within the time. It’s not because we are lazy. Sometimes it can be over-thinking before the bowler runs up, which is not necessarily a good thing anyway. We have to get it sorted.”
Of course, there are those beyond the England camp who might seize on Cook’s absence in the next match as a golden opportunity for a little coup d’état. What if the side excelled spectacularly in his absence on the island from which the word “serendipity” originates? “Serendip” may have been the old name of the island of Sri Lanka but Moores did not appear to see much serendipity here. Rather, he was cheerfully unequivocal about the consequences of this ban. Yes, Cook would definitely play in the following game come what may. Had he any sympathy with the views expressed about the England captaincy for ODI cricket on social media and elsewhere from ex-captains? “No”.
He did acknowledge that the ban provided a chance to look at other players in the squad and to try to identify England’s best team for the World Cup. In fact, the timing of the ban is not so bad now that England have won a match in Sri Lanka. “On the coach back to the hotel it was great to hear the players laughing and enjoying the win,” said Moores.
That win came in the wake of some bold decisions. In the past the England hierarchy has been reluctant to experiment and it is particularly hard to do that when the captain is not contributing much as a batsman. Moores pointed out that they have made some “bold” decisions this year – by promoting Gary Ballance to No3 in the Test team, by opening with Moeen Ali here and even by asking Alex Hales to bat in an unfamiliar slot at three on Wednesday.
They have been more flexible than usual. Before the Hambantota match they recognised the need to do some exploration of some of the newer players in their squad alongside trying to win the game. Hence they surprised us by omitting two senior men, Ian Bell and James Tredwell; they promoted Ravi Bopara up the order because his form on returning to the side has been so impressive and Chris Jordan was given a go at the expense of Harry Gurney.
“These were tough decisions. With Bell and Tredwell we know what we’ve got,” said Moores and there was the tacit assumption that the pair would be involved in the New Year. “Tredwell is a fantastic one-day cricketer with his ability to read batsmen.” By the same token there may be conditions in Australasia when England will prefer to take the field without Tredwell.
Cook’s absence on Sunday means that there is more scope to juggle the lineup. There is the possibility that the “dream team” of so many onlookers, Moeen and Hales, will open the batting together, presumably having sharpened up their communication skills a little, and that Bell or James Taylor will come into the side in place of Cook. The selection of Taylor would mean that every player in the squad would have had an ODI outing in Sri Lanka. Meanwhile, Ben Stokes’s position remains a constant source of debate.
So there are more tough decisions to be made but Cook’s ban has, at least, clarified one issue in the short term. Morgan, despite all the recent failures, will keep his place since he is captain. “The captaincy may be a nice catalyst for him,” said Moores. “It might be a healthy distraction. He is frustrated and very disappointed [with his form] but he is a top-flight ODI player” – an endorsement that had a vaguely familiar ring.
