Alastair Cook Sympathizes With Joe Root Over England's Questionable Selection Tactics

Former England captain Sir Alastair Cook has sympathized with current Test skipper Joe Root, stating the best players haven’t been available consistently during his tenure. Joe Root, who succeeded Sir Alastair Cook as captain in 2017, has produced mixed results as the skipper so far. The former England opener believes that Root has paid the price for selectors’ faulty selection strategies.

England selectors have copped criticism for their rotation policy adopted during their tour of India and the recent home series against New Zealand. One of the significant reasons for their loss in both the series was resting their key players due to fatigue amid the extended time at the bio-bubble. The English cricketers spending their time in IPL meant that they were rested during the home series against the Kiwis. The Kiwis became the first team to beat England in a home Test series in seven years.

Sir Alastair Cook underlined that things have not worked for Joe Root and feel sorry for him. The 161-Test veteran stated that people in English cricket are solely judged based on the results they produce and the current England skipper hasn’t had the best players available more often. Cook said that the likes of Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Jonny Bairstow, and Moeen Ali are impact players and make a significant difference. He feels fortunate to not have captained a side during a pandemic, which contributed to England’s players being unavailable.

“You have to say it hasn’t worked for Rooty, and I do genuinely feel sorry for him. When you’re playing for England, or you’re the captain, coach or selector, you get judged on end results most of the time and he hasn’t had his best players available. You can’t buy the experience of Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Jonny Bairstow, Moeen Ali – those kind of players make a big difference. I’ve never had to captain during a pandemic – I didn’t even know what a pandemic was when I was captain – but you’ve got a Test captain who hasn’t been able to play his best side,” Cook stated as quoted by Sky Sports.

The decisions don’t seem like they’ve been made correctly: Sir Alastair Cook

Sir Alastair Cook thought that the selectors have made some questionable decisions, which have been significant to England’s downfall. The Essex batsman conceded that all had been going well for them until the first Test in India this year before they resorted to the rest and rotation policy.

“The decisions don’t seem like they’ve been made correctly. I’ve been on the other side, where you’re trying to make decisions for the right reasons, but you get judged on your results by it, don’t you It was going so well, winning Test series at home, then Sri Lanka away and 1-0 up against India. Then you rest and rotate players, and ever since that moment on it’s been chasing their tail a little bit,” he added.

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