England vs India 2018: Alastair Cook Needs New Ways to Improve as a Batsman - Graham Gooch

Former England skipper, Graham Gooch feels Alastair Cook should find new techniques as a batsman after he went through a lean patch in the ongoing five-match Test series against India.

Meanwhile, Cook along with other England top-order batsmen have struggled to score runs against India. Cook got out on 17 on the first day at Southampton accounting only 97 runs in six innings so far in this series.

Graham Gooch, however, seemed worried with the lack of development in Alastair Cook’s game. Gooch further added, there are needs for new things when a batsman struggles to get going.

“My concern would be watching him that I don’t see any improvements in his game,” Gooch said in an interview with the Today show on BBC Radio 4.

“I think he’s flat-lining a little bit. When you’re a batsman, you need to improve yourself, you need to look for new things to do to drive you forward,” he added.

Graham Gooch also expressed his concern over Alastair Cook’s style of play. However, there is a lot of scopes to improve for the England opener even at this age.

“I don’t know how he’s practicing and I don’t know what he’s doing away from the game, but I am concerned when I see him play. I think he makes similar mistakes but even at 33 or 34, you can improve yourself,” Graham Gooch noted.

Meanwhile, England currently is 21 runs behind, as they ended the second day on six runs for no loss. The openers Alastair Cook and Keaton Jenning will have to contribute to keeping the hosts in the game. With three days still to play, England will have to put a good score to seal the series in their favour.

After the final match with India on the home soil, England is not in Test action until November, when they play a three-match series in Sri Lanka.