ENG vs IND 2018: Alastair Cook Likely to Miss the Fourth Test at Southampton
Aug 21, 2018 at 9:59 AM
England cricketer Alastair Cook is likely to miss the fourth of the five-match Test series against India at Southampton to attend the birth of his third child.
Meanwhile, Cook has an uphill task at hand to save the third Test at Trent Bridge. India has set a target of 521 in a bid to bounce back in the series.
Alastair Cook’s wife Alice is due to go into labour sometime around the start of the match, on August 30. However, according to Sportsmail, the timing of the birth of his child to allow Cook to take his place in what is shaping up to be a crucial game.
Previously, Cook joined the 2016-17 Bangladesh tour late so he could be at the birth of his second daughter, Isobel. The couple’s first, Elsie, was born in 2014.
However, if Alastair Cook misses this Test, it will bring to an end his world-record sequence of 157 Test appearances.
Furthermore, it will be a bad time for Cook to miss a Test, who has averaged only 19 in Test cricket this year. This is the lowest Cook has accounted for since his debut in 2006. Since making an unbeaten 244 at Melbourne over the winter, he has managed only half-century in 13 innings for England.
Alastair Cook, however, is reluctant to give up his opener’s spot due to a new arrival. Surrey’s Rory Burns is the likeliest replacement of the incumbent southpaw.
The southpaw’s absence with leave England’s batting order paler against India. While Keaton Jennings is still trying to re-establish himself as a Test opener, Ollie Pope only has two caps into his career. The situation got intense with the fracture of the middle finger of Jonny Bairstow during the third day’s play.
However, he is likely to bat during England’s second essay against India in the third Test at Trent Bridge.