Alastair Cook said sacking him from captaincy before World Cup 2015 was a wrong move

England led by Eoin Morgan were eliminated in the group stages after a defeat to Bangladesh in the World Cup 2015.

Alastair Cook played only 92 ODIs for England | GETTYSir Alastair Cook was sacked as England one-day captain before World Cup 2015. Cook, who is one of Test cricket's greatest, wasn't an impactful player in ODIs. He was replaced by Eoin Morgan to lead England. Cook was never picked in ODI after December 2014. 

The former England cricketer opened up on his removal from captaincy back in 2014. Cook felt it was a poor move to appoint a new captain just a couple of months before the World Cup.

“Whether we’d have won it or not – and I don’t think we would – I don’t think it was the right decision to make,” Cook told The Independent.

“When I was made captain, one of my things was that whatever happens in those four years, you don’t want to make major changes just before a World Cup. We’d done it before, and it never worked.”

World Cup 2015 saw England getting knocked out in the group stages after being defeated by Bangladesh. That was a horror show by the English team but Cook doesn't doubt Morgan's leadership skill.

“Maybe it was the best thing for that team, with Eoin as captain,” he reflects. “Realising they had to change their ways. Fair play to him: the way he’s taken that team forward has been great to watch.”

England has seen a rise in their performance since the World Cup 2015. They have chased 300+ totals seven times; most after the last World Cup.

“It’s a side we can be very proud of. Guys who have taken the limits out of one-day cricket. It’s almost a we-can-get-500 attitude. That’s an extraordinary attitude to have,” said Cook.

Cook further talked about the Champions Trophy 2013 loss against India. They were inches closer but missed out after a batting failure. 

“I’m not envious. I always found one-day cricket a lot harder. I had to change my game. I had my go for those four years, and now I’ve got great pride in watching these players who are setting the trend in one-day cricket,” he said.

“The big missed opportunity was that Champions Trophy final. Because actually, we were playing brilliant one-day cricket. The way the game was played, with four men inside the circle from 15 overs, and people who could knock it around really well, we became the best side in the world doing it. That’s the one I felt disappointed about. We could have won that trophy. We were quite clearly the favorites going into that game and backed ourselves."

The Englishman is now part of media team after serving the England cricket team for 15 years. “That’s the biggest problem when people retire: most of the time, they’re searching for that. And it’s about accepting that you had your time. You lived on incredible highs, you lived – mainly – on incredible lows, because cricket’s a game of failure," he said.

“You’ve got to accept that it is going to be different. And that you get rewards from different things. So the five months I had at home: you’re not getting the massive highs and lows, but you’re getting to see your children grow up and spend quality time with them that you wouldn’t have. And that gives you a different kind of satisfaction.”

(With The Independent Inputs)
 

 
 

By Sihyeu Singh - 21 Feb, 2019

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