Ravi Bopara was not surprised by the content of some of the inquiries. It was not necessary to be a slave of social media to know that three former England captains had been calling for Alastair Cook to resign his post in charge of the one-day side after the latest defeat against Sri Lanka, at the Premadasa Stadium.
Bopara did not dwell on the illogicality of the resignation issue. It is patently the job of selectors, coaches and directors to decide who should be captain of the team, not a judgment for the player himself. Imagine Ian Botham, Michael Vaughan or Kevin Pietersen informing the hierarchy in their playing days: “Well, actually I’m not up to it. Terribly sorry. Best let someone else have a go.”
One of the characteristics of top sportsmen is that they possess an iron self-belief. That is one reason why they are so good. So they seldom decline an opportunity such as captaining their country in a World Cup. Nor did Bopara surmise that the more Pietersen tweets that Cook should resign, the less likely it is to happen. Funnily enough, in the current climate neither the England and Wales Cricket Board nor Cook will want to be seen to be following KP’s latest piece of advice. Hence the patriotic response of Pietersen – since he believes that Cook should go – should most definitely be not to tweet his opinion.
Somehow it does not seem to work like that. The problem with the captaincy issue is that it has become a matter of wills rather than a cricketing debate. There is a good argument that Cook, currently in very mediocre form, is not suited to this form of the game. But just at the moment you can’t let the bastards grind you down.
However Bopara did offer predictable, though heartfelt, support for his captain after England’s latest ODI setback, a resounding eight-wicket loss during which the home side barely had to break sweat.
“One thing we must remember”, said Bopara, “it’s not just Alastair Cook who hasn’t scored over the past few games. He is our captain. He has done it in the past. I remember him scoring two hundreds on the bounce in the UAE. He can play and I’m sure that his form will turn around.”
Bopara was not looking for an argument with the former players. “Everyone is entitled to their opinion. But in English culture we’re quite quick to jump on something that hasn’t gone right”. He has known Cook, an Essex team-mate, for most of his life and said: “I think what’s happened to him over the past year has definitely made him stronger. He smiles a lot more than he ever did. I think he’s in a good place. He’s handling it well. He’s quite a strong character. He’ll come out the other side”.
However, a few wins and a few runs would help. Bopara’s assessment of the latest defeat was succinct and accurate. “We went out with the mentality that we had to get 300 on the board when really 250 would have been a good score. We didn’t adapt quickly enough to the pitch and lost a few early wickets.”
He was too polite to mention that two of the culprits at the top of the order were his fellow “veterans”, Cook and Ian Bell.
Bopara, who was dropped at the end of last summer, has been one of the chinks of light on this tour, and he spoke candidly about being left out of the side. “I get dropped a lot actually. Getting dropped against India was a shock. I remember the phone call quite clearly. I didn’t really want to tell anyone. I was a little bit embarrassed. But a week later you get over it and work out a plan of how to get back. I’ve come back saying I’m more determined and that I’m working harder, which is the truth. But I think I come back wiser every time. I’m more independent as a player and not so coach-driven. You’ve got to find it within yourself and do it your own way.”
Hang on a minute; listening to Bopara suggests that the experience of being dropped can be remarkably beneficial. At various stages it worked wonders for the England careers of stalwarts such as Andrew Strauss, Matt Prior and Bell. And it may have done no harm to Bopara. However, amid the current hullaballoo this strategy is unlikely to be applied to all those England players currently out of form.
