Cook’s chooks captain's biggest concern

Test spearhead Stuart Broad says embattled captain Alastair Cook will be too busy with his farm to worry about criticism of his captaincy or his current batting form.

Writing for the UK’s Daily Mail, Broad took the opportunity to throw his full support behind his embattled captain and assure the public that the entire England side feels the same way.

“Let me assure you every person in that England dressing room knows he is one of our ‘gun’ batsmen and our leader to take us forward,” Broad wrote.

“The key for Cooky is to block out the noise on the outside and listen to the guys who are in the changing room and enjoy the great team spirit we’ve got now.

“One thing is for sure, Cooky won’t be at home worrying about what’s being said on Twitter or written in the media. He’ll be too busy with the lambs and chickens on his farm.

“Things can be built up from outside the bubble of the dressing room with so much chatter going on, but when we are in there Cooky is very much his usual, calm self.

“We spend a lot of the time talking about his farm and how he’s got to get back home to mow the lawn, rather than what anyone might be saying.”

The comments come two days after Shane Warne called for Cook to step down as England captain and just one day since sacked batsman Kevin Pietersen slammed the side’s ‘unhappy’ dressing room.

It hasn’t just been his leadership that has come under scrutiny however with the opener averaging just 23.14 since the start of the Ashes series in November.

“Remember in 2010 when he was struggling and there were calls for him to be dropped against Pakistan?” Broad continued.

“He then got a hundred at the Oval after being dropped a couple of times and Asif throwing it over the keeper’s head for him to reach three figures.

“He went on to break all sorts of records and get himself an MBE that winter with his exploits in Australia.

“It may have escaped a few people’s notice that he passed Geoff Boycott to become England’s fifth-highest run scorer of all time.

“You don’t achieve something like that without being made of strong stuff.”