Root defends captain Cook to lead England in ODI series

David Clough 06:31 27/08/2014
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  • Standing by his captain: Root (l) said Cook can form an effective partnership with Alex Hales in one-dayers.

    England are confident they have the right captain, and right meth­ods, to take on India in the ODI series and on the journey to next winter’s World Cup.

    Joe Root spoke defiantly on the eve of the second one-day inter­national in Cardiff in support of Alastair Cook, after former play­ers Graeme Swann and Michael Vaughan questioned the captain’s 50-over credentials.

    Swann and Vaughan have been outspoken in their critique of Cook, reasoning his high-70s strike rate at the top of the order will not help England win their first World Cup at the 11th attempt.

    Root’s own strike rate is also mar­ginally sub-80, comparable with Cook’s and also Ian Bell’s .

    But the Yorkshireman is having none of Vaughan and Swann’s the­sis that England, even after recruit­ing Alex Hales as a new ‘master blaster’ opening partner for Cook, are woefully short of the firepower.

    “We’ve got guys like (Eoin) Mor­gan and (Jos) Buttler down the order who, as you’ve seen, can win games on their own,” said Root.

    “We’re in a good place, and this series will be a good judge of that.”

    Cook, who proved Vaughan and many others wrong by turning round England’s Test summer, un­surprisingly has Root’s unequivocal support as his team embark on an almost uninterrupted programme of 50-over cricket until the end of the World Cup in New Zealand and Australia next March.

    He added: “He’s our leader in one-day cricket as well as Tests; he’s done well over a number of years, and we all back him.

    “He’s a fantastic player and has got all of our support.”

    Root believes the Cook and Hales contrast may be just what England need to set a winning tone, adding: “His style complements players like Alex Hales, and we hope that can be shown in this series.

    “We’re all really excited and want to show what we can do as a one-day outfit.”

    England will begin with a clean slate at the SWALEC Stadium to­day, in a series effectively reduced to four matches after the first fix­ture was washed out in Bristol.

    Root has no doubt they will be well-served by a batting line-up for all occasions and conditions, given that many of them have Test expe­rience.

    “Alex is an explosive player and we’re all looking forward to seeing him do stuff,” added Root.

    “I think guys have been picked because they’re very capable of making big scores in one-day series.

    “I don’t think there’s much of a problem with the batting.” 

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