Alastair Cook has called his decision to step down as England captain as ‘an incredibly tough decision’.
After a prolonged run of poor results including the 4-0 drubbing in India, pressure was immense on Cook. Several former players had called for his resignation and the 32-year old ended all the speculations on Monday (February 6) by announcing his resignation following four and a half years as skipper.
“I’ve loved every minute as England captain,” Cook told Sky Sports from Lord’s. “But it’s a job you have to commit 100% to, and there’ve been certain times throughout my four or five years in the job when I’ve been to the well and dug pretty deep.
“And coming back from India, the way I felt then, I didn’t think I had it in me to do it again, because this isn’t a job where you can operate at 95%. When I looked in that mirror, I felt it was time. It was sad in one way, because I’ve loved the honour and prestige of all of it. I’ve been leading some great men and had some great moments as England captain, but I do think it’s the right time for me and for the team.”
Cook had been under pressure on several occasions during his topsy-turvy career as a skipper but the way his team was outplayed by Virat Kohli’s men, it was very much clear that he would find it extremely tough to bounce back. His team lost by an innings twice in India even after posting 400 and 477 in the first innings of the last two Tests. Moreover, the last Test in Chennai ended in the worst possible manner for the visitors as after conceding their highest-ever Test score, they lost their 10 wickets in the last two sessions of the final day to lose the match that was looking destined to end in a draw.
The outgoing skipper also admitted to being involved in Kevin Pietersen’s sacking from the England team after losing the Ashes 5-0 in Australia in 2013/14.
“I think we all have regrets over how it was handled,” he admitted. “I was part of that decision, I wasn’t the be-all-and-end-all of it, but what followed was part of the responsibility I had as England captain.
“The fallout wasn’t great for English cricket, we were in the headlines for the wrong reasons, especially when our job as players is to promote the game as best we can, so it was not the best six months. But things have moved on, and since Andrew Strauss has come in, he’s done a great job and made it clear that the side has moved on.”
The highest run-getter for England in Test cricket further said that his stint as the captain of the Three Lions was not only about criticism and had its fair shares of positives.
“There are good times, it’s not all criticism,” he said. “It’s a challenging job, not sure what you’ll have thrown at you. The decision has been hard because I knew what I was giving away. But I had to be honest with myself. I look forward to the next part of my career – supporting the new guys, hopefully scoring some runs, and being part of England’s success.”
Cook also had a word of advice for his successor. England’s batting mainstay is widely tipped to take the baton from Cook.
“Make sure you don’t always do it your way. There are a lot of great people out there who watch a lot of cricket who know probably more than you do. So use that advice and be open to it. Ultimately you have to make the decision out there yourself, but use as much as you can. A lot of people want you to do well, because people love seeing England win games of cricket,” he said.