England captain Alastair Cook said he will carry on as England one-day captain despite the latest humiliating defeat at the hands of India and with the World Cup just five months away.
“I’m still hungry to do it. If the management say they don’t want me, that’s a decision they make,” 29-year-old Cook told BBC radio. “The frustrating thing is that every side I seem to play in for England, there’s a question about my place. That’s a hard place to work from.”
Tuesday’s nine-wicket hammering at Edgbaston was the latest of three heavy defeats and gave India the series win. Former England players such as Graeme Swann are calling for Cook to step down as one-day skipper.
Photo: Reuters
Cook’s position as Test captain came under scrutiny when India took a 1-0 lead in the Test series earlier in the summer, only for England to complete a 3-1 victory.
“I went from 1-0 down to 3-1. It changes very quickly in sport. My credibility is not for me to comment on,” said opening batsman Cook, whose average in 13 one-day games this year is 29.8. “I know I have to score more runs. I’ve done that in the past and I will in the future.”
“I’ve had three and a half years of one-day captaincy experience,” he said. “We’ve done some really good stuff in that time, but we’re having a heavy blip at the moment.”
The latest heavy defeat by India came after the hosts were bowled out for only 206 in Birmingham, with the tourists chasing down their target with 117 deliveries to spare.
Cook took charge of the one-day international side in 2011, leading England to the top of the ODI world rankings in 2012.
However, England have lost nine of their past 12 completed ODIs under Cook’s captaincy against Test-playing nations.
The final game at Headingley on Friday is England’s last home ODI before the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, which is to begin in February next year.
“The players have to look at themselves and turn it around. The guys are hungry to succeed, we’re just not delivering at the moment. If anyone thinks their place is safe, then they are wrong,” Cook said.
Meanwhile, England exile Kevin Pietersen said that changes had to made to the one-day side if they were to be competitive at the World Cup.
Pietersen took to Twitter after the defeat in the fourth one-day international.
England coach Peter Moores has labeled the team as “unfancied” to triumph in the World Cup, while Cook said the notion of the team lifting the trophy for the first time in the tournament’s 40-year history was “far-fetched.”
Although Pietersen did not indicate who should be dropped, he said a shake-up was required before, rather than after, the tournament.
“So let’s pick the same team for SL [Sri Lanka] and for the tri-series IN AUS & WC in Aus and lose,” Pietersen said on Twitter. “Then change after that! I cannot believe it!”
South Africa-born batsman Pietersen, England’s all-time leading run-scorer across all formats, was sent into international exile in February following England’s return from a 5-0 Ashes thrashing in Australia.
At the time, the England and Wales Cricket Board cited the need to support Alastair Cook’s captaincy as a reason for ditching former skipper Pietersen.
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