Cook likely to retain captaincy for Sri Lanka ODI series

David Clough 08:14 24/09/2014
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  • Survivor: Despite a string of failures England selectors are set to appoint Alastair Cook as captain for the upcoming one-day series in Sri Lanka

    Alastair Cook is set to be confirmed as England’s prospective World Cup captain when the selectors announce their squad to travel first to Sri Lanka for seven one-day inter­nationals. That tour, in November and December, will be England’s last before they set foot in Australia to begin their 2015 World Cup prepa­rations in earnest.

    Unusually in anticipation of a squad announcement, the name which has been the subject of most conjecture is the captain’s.

    Cook spent almost the entire home summer under pressure, ini­tially as leader of the Test team and then in ODIs after England strug­gled against Sri Lanka and more so India. Even before the India series began, Cook – who had answered his Test critics with a 3-1 win over the same opponents – was beset by pun­dits insisting he should not lead the team to the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand early next year.

    His former team-mate and friend Graeme Swann, notably, claimed the England team in its current state – with Cook as captain – would not have a “cat in hell’s chance” of win­ning the competition for the first time.

    The captain’s strike rate, at sub- 80 pedestrian compared with some of his opposite numbers, was the main gripe – and by the end of the summer, his detractors could also point to the fact Cook had lost five successive ODI series. The selec­tors, however, appear to have held their nerve and stood by their man in a meeting on Monday night– and Cook’s World Cup hopefuls, give or take one or two, will be announced today.

    He will have with him the two stalking-horse candidates suggested as possible alternative leaders, middle-order batsmen Joe Root and Eoin Morgan, and his new attacking foil at the top of the order, Alex Hales.

    The latter did enough in England’s 3-1 defeat against India to stay on at the top of the order, with the World Cup very much in mind.

    There will be much more that is familiar to England’s followers in a likely 15-man squad – with just one or two tweaks left to be done, as long as Cook’s men navigate a tough as­signment in Sri Lanka with confi­dence no further compromised.

    There is no reason to think the team which scored a consolation victory over India at Headingley this month will not be retained in its entirety. It is the other four names which can be predicted with signifi­cantly less certainty.

    The injury-enforced absence of Stuart Broad, but his expected recovery in time for the World Cup, means the 15 will be competing for 14 places by the time England fine-tune selection for the global tourna­ment.

    The other complication is that variant options must be considered for a tour of Sri Lanka, ones that may not necessarily still be top of the list in Australia and New Zealand. Vastly different conditions will bring other skills into play – and, of course, the worst possible preparation for a World Cup is to begin that campaign on the back of a hammering.

    Defeat in Sri Lanka could hardly be held up as a definitive signpost to failure too Down Under – but it would be a major blow to morale, and a boost for Cook’s critics of course, if things were to go badly wrong. For that reason, England may be tempted to field some vari­ety in their attack – and tailor it to the sub-continent.

    Their pace options are conven­tional, albeit with Steven Finn’s height even in Broad’s absence, and may about to become even more so – unless they decide to stick with the left-arm variation of Harry Gurney. His figures remain promising, but players more likely to contribute in all disciplines – and specifically in Sri Lanka – could get the nod.

    There has been a clamour for the return of batting all-rounder Ravi Bopara after his surprise omission against India.

    With his medium-pace likely to be handy in Sri Lanka, he could well get the nod ahead of pure frontline bats­men such as Gary Ballance, James Taylor or Jason Roy. The last bowl­ing position, for similar reasons, may go to a second specialist spin­ner – but one who can bat too.

    England have three off-spin options but none that takes the ball the other way. Yorkshire leg-spin­ner Adil Rashid, last in the England reckoning almost five years ago but reported to have matured encour­agingly since, could therefore come into contention among those scrap­ping for a place on the new-year flight south. 

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