No Hiding Place For Cook, Whose Jumbled Thinking Is Hurting His Side

Derek Pringle looks at England’s shortcomings in India and questions the methods of their skipper, whose lack of faith and adventure is costing his side.

- Derek Pringle

As England briefly escape their feverish tour of India for some rest and relaxation in Dubai, they will have time to ponder the confusion that has engulfed them from the moment they arrived in Mumbai four weeks ago.

From selections of the squad to the tactics used, this has been a Test series where the captain, Alastair Cook, has trusted few of his players and even fewer of his instincts.

Having emerged unexpectedly triumphant from the corresponding tour of India four years ago, Cook has been unsure whether England should approach this one as defending champions, possibles, or no-hopers. The uncertainty has led to a three-way fudge which has been reflected in his tactics as well as his pronouncements to the media.

If the captain is confused then it is almost certain that his players will be too, especially after the first Test in Rajkot where England dominated the match for four days only to settle for the ‘safety first’ haven of a draw.

Instead of setting India 270 off 70 overs on the final day, Cook opted to leave them 309 off 56 overs. England had them in trouble at 132 for six, but could not clinch victory after they ran out of time and steam.

The message that decision sent out, apart from Cook’s lack of adventure (and we are not talking about him taking anything like a reckless gamble here), was that he did not trust his bowlers. Instead of basing his computations on a best case scenario for them, he based it on a worst one. Indeed, his suspicion that he did not trust any of the spin bowlers was evident by England selecting three of them and then Cook deploying them as if by a roll of the dice.