It was Paul Downton’s turn to offer an endorsement of Alastair Cook on the eve of the seventh and final one-day international in Sri Lanka. He also explained the thought processes of those in charge when reappointing the 29-year-old as their ODI captain in September.
“Of course, he’s having a terrible time at the moment and no one is more frustrated than him,” said Downton, the managing director of the England and Wales Cricket Board, before confirming that he would be very surprised if Cook were not appointed captain of the World Cup squad this weekend. The selectors meet on Friday before an announcement is made on Saturday.
Downton divulged how after the Test series against India the selectors had agonised for a week about the one-day captaincy before sticking with Cook. “He had been captain for three and a half years. When he led a full-strength side – for a change – in the Champions Trophy the team reached the final. Yes, he’s in miserable form but form can change. We felt strongly that his experience and toughness would be very important. He has just had a traumatic summer with a lot of pressure on him but now that dressing room is his as never before. The youngsters have thrived and he is their natural leader.”
Downton also spoke about his role in this week’s selection process. “My job is not in the dressing room. I employ selectors to make decisions and I have absolutely not lost faith in them. On Friday I will attend the meeting and, if asked for my opinion, I will give it but I don’t have a vote.” He added that he would not have a veto either but this was said with the confidence of a man who knew that a veto would not be required.
Downton enthused about the “regeneration” taking place in English cricket, in particular the evolution of the Test side, focusing on the advances of Joe Root, Moeen Ali and Gary Ballance, plus the improvements of Chris Woakes, Chris Jordan and Steven Finn on this tour. He was less keen to dwell on the Kevin Pietersen affair, which dominated his first months in charge. He insisted that Pietersen’s departure had no relevance to the decision to stick with Cook now and that there had never been any formal complaint of bullying in the England team, a charge made in Pietersen’s recent autobiography. Clearly that tome had been on Downton’s autumn reading list. “All one has to do is read Kevin’s book to see how disaffected he was. I repeat we felt that he was disengaged from the team. I’m sure we could have handled it all better but it’s history now and I’m very content that we made the right decision.” Whereupon he confirmed that the current team is “absolutely behind” Cook.
The England captain has his final chance to score some runs on Tuesday after a torrid tour in which his batting has regressed. So far he has 87 from five innings and in four of them he has been dismissed by off-breaks from Tillakaratne Dilshan and Sachithra Senanayake.
Cook will have to wait for the tour of Australia before being greeted by a genuine opening bowler. Even then there is no guarantee that captains will not prefer mischievously to toss the ball to an off-spinner when they see Cook taking guard. “He is due,” said Downton wistfully but there is no question that Cook retains the support of the men that matter.
The final ODI also provides an opportunity for the Sri Lankan public to say farewell to Mahela Jayawardene, who is playing his last match on home turf. He retires after the World Cup and Sri Lanka will miss him off the field as well as on it.
Jayawardene has all-seeing eyes. On tour he would keep one of them on the novices and, if he sensed a problem, he might take them out to dinner, offering precious advice and friendship along the way. At the crease he was arguably the most felicitous batsman of his era, forging countless brilliant partnerships with Kumar Sangakkara.
If in good nick Jayawardene would have a couple of throwdowns and a few catches at the start of the day; Sangakkara, leaving nothing to chance, would have netted assiduously and he will, no doubt, do so before his last ODI match in Sri Lanka. Both managed to play cricket with a smile, which may have disguised the fact that they were as tough and driven as any cricketers in the world.
