Quantcast

Cook embracing the challenge

England’s decorated opener may be in the twilight of his career, but he remains a danger to Australia

For Alastair Cook the Magellan Ashes series that starts on Thursday could be the last great challenge of a wonderful career.

Australia, of course, was the scene of his greatest triumph back in 2010-11, when his 766-run series inspired England to their first away Ashes victory in 24 years.

A lot has happened since, with Cook’s tenure as captain, which started with another stellar overseas performance in India in late 2012, coming to an end at the beginning of this year following a chastening 4-0 series loss in the same country.

The opener, who will be 33 on Christmas Day, has pretty much achieved everything he can in Test cricket. His 31 Test hundreds are a record for any Englishman, as are his 11,629 runs, and 147 caps. He also has four successful Ashes campaigns to his name – 2009, 2010-11, 2013 and 2015 – not to mention series wins in the big three destinations of India, Australia and South Africa.

Composed Cook delivers overdue order of runs


Questions about how long Cook can go on for and whether the competitive fire that has driven him since making his Test debut 11-and-a-half years ago are valid.

Indeed, a horror Ashes – and Cook has been part of two series whitewashes in Australia as well as that win seven years ago – may well signal the end of his time in the England team.

You would think he would be allowed to leave the international arena on his own terms, with perhaps the 2019 Ashes in England a likely swansong if all goes well.

From the Ashes: Alastair Cook 189 - Sydney 2010/11


However, sport rarely offers fairy tale endings. One man who knows that more than most is former Australia captain Ricky Ponting, who scored just 12 runs in his final Test, a 309-run defeat by South Africa at Perth in 2012.

Ponting and Cook’s careers were travelling in very different directions in 2010-11, with the Australian forced to give up the Test captaincy following that Ashes defeat for his team.

He lasted for 18 months more at the highest level before finally retiring. And he knows the internal battles the very best players face to keep up those high standards once they are past their peak.

“I know myself having been through it that when you’ve played a certain amount of games or scored a certain amount of runs – like Cook – trying to find ways to improve on a daily basis becomes really difficult,” Ponting said.

“Just trying to hang on and maintain a level of performance gets harder and harder.”

It’s a challenge Cook spoke about enthusiastically at the Gabba today, admitting: “It’s a really strange thing. You look at people when you first start your career and think ‘I wish I could play for 10 years’. You always aspire to be someone else. Now I suppose I’m at that stage where people would quite like to swap their records with mine.

“But I’m desperate to still play cricket for England. I really am enjoying the challenge of it. It doesn’t get easier just because you’ve played 140-odd games. It’s just as hard and will always be. You’re playing against the best players in the world whichever country you’re playing in.

“It’s a great challenge. In one way, it’s different to lots of sports.

Cook doubles up as Windies feel the heat


In football, if you’ve played 500 games people kind of look past mistakes. But in cricket you always start on 0. It doesn’t matter if you’ve scored no runs or loads of runs; you always start on 0. No one is guaranteed to score runs.

“You’ve got to work for every last run when you get in. It doesn’t change for anyone. That’s why Thursday will be so exciting.”

Cook will be playing his fourth – and surely last – Ashes Test at the Gabba. Yet the nerves will still be there when he steps out on to the field on Thursday morning.

“It certainly gets the emotions going,” he said.

“Coming into ground today, seeing it again, brings back some good and bad memories and you’re unsure what the week is going to be like.

“It’s what drives you on when you’re doing all the training and the dark hours at Chelmsford or in the gym when it’s pretty dull and boring but then you get your moment here.”

Cook's history as England secure win


Runs have not been easy to come by for Cook in England’s three tour matches, but a score of 70 against a Cricket Australia XI in Townsville last week suggested he is coming into some kind of form.

“If you’d scored lots of runs in the warm-up games you’d say you’re ready but it doesn’t mean you’ll score runs here,” he said.

England will hope Cook can score plenty of runs at the top of the order even if his recent record suggests that may not necessarily be the case.

In the past two years, he has registered just three centuries, with only one – against India at Rajkot last November – away from England.

Cook averages 41.37 overall – and just 29.18 overseas – in that period compared to his career mark of 46.33.

However, while those numbers may tell a story, this a player whose stubbornness and mental fortitude at the crease means you would be foolish to back against him finishing this Ashes series with another mountain of runs.

2017-18 International Fixtures:

Magellan Ashes Series

First Test Gabba, November 23-27. Buy tickets

Second Test Adelaide Oval, December 2-6 (Day-Night). Buy tickets

Third Test WACA Ground, December 14-18. Buy tickets

Fourth Test MCG, December 26-30. Buy tickets

Fifth Test SCG, January 4-8 (Pink Test). Buy tickets

Gillette ODI Series v England

First ODI MCG, January 14. Buy tickets

Second ODI Gabba, January 19. Buy tickets

Third ODI SCG, January 21. Buy tickets

Fourth ODI Adelaide Oval, January 26. Buy tickets

Fifth ODI Perth TBC, January 28. Join the ACF

Prime Minister's XI

PM's XI v England Manuka Oval, February 2. Buy tickets

Gillette T20 INTL Series

First T20I Australia v NZ, SCG, February 3. Buy tickets

Second T20I – Australia v England, Blundstone Arena, February 7. Buy tickets

Third T20I – Australia v England, MCG, February 10. Buy tickets

Fourth T20I – NZ v England, Wellington, February 13

Fifth T20I – NZ v Australia, Eden Park, February 16

Sixth T20I – NZ v England, Seddon Park, February 18

Final – TBC, Eden Park, February 21