The only relief for England was that they could now fly home. They cannot be beaten again by Sri Lanka in a few days’ time since the series is finally over. England lost it 5-2, after another emphatic defeat by 87 runs in Colombo. It was a very glum party that headed for the airport.
Now the focus shifts to the selectors’ meeting on Friday before the announcement of the World Cup squad on Saturday.
That is likely to be a gloomy gathering too. There it is expected that Cook will be confirmed as captain but he is unlikely to be beaming at the news given the torment that he has endured on this tour. In fact Cook was taking nothing for granted after the match.
“No I’m not wavering,” he said. “I’m still hungry to do well. I don’t like not seeing the job through and I can see a lot of potential in this team.”
But Cook acknowledged his position is by no means certain: “I’ll find out in a couple of days if I’ll be captain. To be honest, I haven’t given it too much thought.
“I know I have not scored enough runs in ODI cricket or won enough games. If the decision went against me I would have no complaints. Whether the selectors think I’m the right man for the job, we’ll wait and see. There is no divine right to be captain of England.”
England’s defeat in front of a capacity crowd, who had come to celebrate the final home ODI appearances of Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara, was their last game of a year which Cook will never forget, mostly for unpalatable reasons. “It’s been a hell of a year. There has been a great change in personnel and it’s been a year of transition. Fifteen months ago we were winning the Ashes at home. But we have found some outstanding cricketers and we have made some big strides.”
He trusts that the wheel will eventually turn as far as his own batting is concerned. “Everyone has tough moments in their career. It’s a hard game.”
In the last few weeks it has never been harder for Cook. If he is confirmed as the World Cup captain, a huge challenge awaits him, which is to remember how he scores his runs.
