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LONDON: As Alastair Cook gets ready to exit the international stage, one cannot help but be reminded of the old adage: “You don’t know what you have until it’s gone.”
This writer called for Cook to step down earlier this year after a disastrous Ashes campaign. And as soon as England’s leading Test run-scorer announced his retirement from the international scene on Monday, this writer got his wish. But it comes with a definite tinge of sadness.
Cook’s ability was not a natural one — he worked hard at his game. Anyone who knows cricket could see his was not an inherent technique, but one crafted by hours in the practice nets and sheer determination.
That hard work earned him the England captaincy, numerous famous wins and a position among the game’s pantheon of greats. With more than 12,000 Test runs, a host of records broken throughout his career and almost universal respect, Cook will leave the game as one of its legends.
But his retirement, while arguably coming six months too late, has arrived at a good time for Cook personally, as well as the England team. The Essex left-hander has been in bad form in recent months. While cruel to call him a “walking wicket,” he has not contributed enough to warrant his position as opener for a while. The England selectors, too, will no longer have to nod to his past achievements and will be able to fill his place with a handful of County Championship players currently far more deserving of an England call-up. By stepping down before he became a shadow of his former self, Cook has ensured that his considerable legacy will not only be remembered and appreciated on English shores from Chester-le-Street to his home ground of Colchester, but also by cricket fans from the Caribbean to Christchurch.
Worryingly for England, for all his recent faults, Cook represents one of the last examples of an ever-more-extinct breed — cricketers untainted by the T20 era, who understand the meaning of “digging in” and protecting a wicket, something the current crop of youngsters clearly do not. Although it will be a winning series, England’s recent matches against India have brutally highlighted how inadequate the batting order is at staying in and building decent scores.
In Cook, England had one of the last bastions of an orthodox technique, of mental resolve, of old-school batsmanship. With his departure, it remains to be seen if England will produce a player with the same fortitude and dedication to the craft of Test cricket batting, simply because there is not the talent of his kind coming through.
England’s upcoming fixtures against Sri Lanka and the West Indies should not challenge the frailty of their top order too much. But, looking beyond next year’s ODI World Cup and in the face of much tougher Test series against the likes of Australia and South Africa, one has to wonder how much England will miss a player of his caliber, stature and class.
In this writer’s humble opinion, it will be quite a lot.