England coach Trevor Bayliss was in awe of Alastair Cook’s powers of concentration during his man-of-the-match, marathon innings in the first Test.
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Asked for his reaction while Cook was batting, and that of the players in the dressing room, Bayliss made it clear they are all full of admiration.
“(It’s) one of awe, I think,” said the Australian. “It is just an unbelievable will to concentrate for that long … an unbelievable effort.”
Cook has made tireless batting his speciality, often in Asian conditions, and Bayliss added: “There are some very good players in both teams … but for someone to bat like that from the top of the innings – I think he spent over four days on the field – his powers of concentration are just superb.
“It’s not the first time he’s done it, so it really wasn’t a surprise he was able to bat that long.”
Cook did not need to enhance his reputation among team-mates who already have huge respect for him.
“I don’t think it changes his standing in the team at all, because I think the rest of the players already have a very high opinion of their captain,” said Bayliss.
“He’s very well-respected. It was just another sign to the players that he is an extremely good player, a hard worker – and a sign to them how hard they’ve got to work.
“If they can work just as hard as him, this team’s got some good times in front of it.”
Among them, Adil Rashid produced a resilient performance – having recorded figures of nought for 163 in the first innings, on a very slow pitch.
Bayliss believes the experience could be the making of the leg-spinner.
“Certainly,” he said. “He did exactly what we thought he was more than capable of doing. In the first innings, it was very difficult to bowl spin on that wicket – as I think the four or five spinners in the match found.
“But spinners, especially leg spinners, really came into their own on that last day – and he showed the quality he has got.”
Bayliss had no qualms with rules which forced the players off in fading light, but agreed with many that the playing surface was too slow.
“If the wicket was just a little bit quicker, it would make for a lot better game to watch.”
