| Alastair Cook 12:46 - Jul 31 with 960 views | MrSheen |
I sincerely apologise for calling you a clueless tw*t last week. I now recognise your god-like genius. Until next game. |  | | |  |
| Alastair Cook on 12:48 - Jul 31 with 957 views | hoof_hearted |
Marvel at the fickle fans...wouldn't happen at QPR...oh no. We're cheery and optimistic whatever the result. |  | | |
| Alastair Cook on 12:51 - Jul 31 with 937 views | adhoc_qpr |
No doubt we've played well this test match and got the breaks (Cook being dropped on a low score in the 1st innings).
BUT this is exactly the test match that Cook understands how to captain i.e. rack up a big 1st innings score and then ramp up the pressure. It's a template of Andy Flower's perfect game! |  | | |
| Alastair Cook on 14:36 - Jul 31 with 812 views | coolranger |
| Alastair Cook on 12:51 - Jul 31 by adhoc_qpr |
No doubt we've played well this test match and got the breaks (Cook being dropped on a low score in the 1st innings).
BUT this is exactly the test match that Cook understands how to captain i.e. rack up a big 1st innings score and then ramp up the pressure. It's a template of Andy Flower's perfect game! |
Well said. Cricket is a fickle game.
Cook was dropped at third slip on 15, a routine slip catch at that level, and went on to scrap his way to a patchy 95. Never really looked in touch, but he battled it out which you sometimes have to do in any sport. Could easily have been a very different tale.
Second innings he played within himself and dropped anchor, making sure he got a score, while others came in and played with more freedom - he scored 70 while England got to 204.
Personally I don't think he is a 'great' player, although his record suggests he is a 'very good player' - there is a difference. He has several limitations as a batsman, which the Aussies exploited ruthlessly. This Indian bowling side is not that special.
As a captain, I think he is quite conservative and not particularly imaginative. Doesn't make him a 'bad' captain, but not a special captain either. Would say the same about Strauss.
From personal experience captaining a very good side is not that difficult. Getting a poor or average side to perform beyond its basic ability is the real test. | | | |
| Alastair Cook on 15:50 - Jul 31 with 738 views | ingeminate |
| Alastair Cook on 14:36 - Jul 31 by coolranger |
Well said. Cricket is a fickle game.
Cook was dropped at third slip on 15, a routine slip catch at that level, and went on to scrap his way to a patchy 95. Never really looked in touch, but he battled it out which you sometimes have to do in any sport. Could easily have been a very different tale.
Second innings he played within himself and dropped anchor, making sure he got a score, while others came in and played with more freedom - he scored 70 while England got to 204.
Personally I don't think he is a 'great' player, although his record suggests he is a 'very good player' - there is a difference. He has several limitations as a batsman, which the Aussies exploited ruthlessly. This Indian bowling side is not that special.
As a captain, I think he is quite conservative and not particularly imaginative. Doesn't make him a 'bad' captain, but not a special captain either. Would say the same about Strauss.
From personal experience captaining a very good side is not that difficult. Getting a poor or average side to perform beyond its basic ability is the real test. |
by English standards he is a great player - scored the most hundreds ever in the history of English test cricket!
If that doesn't qualify then I don't know what does!!!
Re his blip in form - and granted it has been going on for a while - my view is while he definitely has technical issues there it has been turbo charged by his captaincy problems.
I back him to sort out his glitches and break pretty much every record out there - it may take him losing the captaincy to do it.
He is though and always will be a fairly boring batsman but that's a different issue. [Post edited 31 Jul 2014 22:19]
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| Alastair Cook on 23:08 - Jul 31 with 616 views | coolranger |
| Alastair Cook on 15:50 - Jul 31 by ingeminate |
by English standards he is a great player - scored the most hundreds ever in the history of English test cricket!
If that doesn't qualify then I don't know what does!!!
Re his blip in form - and granted it has been going on for a while - my view is while he definitely has technical issues there it has been turbo charged by his captaincy problems.
I back him to sort out his glitches and break pretty much every record out there - it may take him losing the captaincy to do it.
He is though and always will be a fairly boring batsman but that's a different issue. [Post edited 31 Jul 2014 22:19]
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I'd be interested to see Cook's batting record against the top 3 Test sides now, I suspect it could now be below 40.
I think the the term 'great' is bandied around far too loosely these days across many sports. I just don't see Cook in this 'great' category, alongside players like Lara, Tendulkar, Dravid, Kallis, Ponting, Waugh, Richards, Pollock, Greenidge.
It's almost like saying Rooney is 'great'. Really? Why? I'm not sure he would get into the Bayern Munich side. He's a fine player, but he is not a Zidane, or a Maradona. Far from it.
Hard to gauge the best measure of these things. I keep hearing what a 'great' player Kevin Pietersen is/was, but I remember the many times when he failed and I looked up his Test average.... it's 47. Well that's very good, but was he just a touch short of 'greatness'? Some people talk about KP like he was averaging 60. What they do remember were the big and dynamic hundreds. What they forget are the number of times he threw his wicket away early on, often in a tough situation.
Look at the England side today and most of the established batters average in the 40s, Bell I think is around 45, almost at KP's level, or is he? Bell is a very fine player, very good technique and good to watch when he gets in. Is he great? Ask Shane Warne.
Cook could well make the most runs, most centuries, face the most balls, bat the most minutes etc etc for England - quite possibly, but partly because he could very well end up playing the most Tests by an Englishman too. | | | |
| Alastair Cook on 00:06 - Aug 1 with 585 views | Match82 |
| Alastair Cook on 23:08 - Jul 31 by coolranger |
I'd be interested to see Cook's batting record against the top 3 Test sides now, I suspect it could now be below 40.
I think the the term 'great' is bandied around far too loosely these days across many sports. I just don't see Cook in this 'great' category, alongside players like Lara, Tendulkar, Dravid, Kallis, Ponting, Waugh, Richards, Pollock, Greenidge.
It's almost like saying Rooney is 'great'. Really? Why? I'm not sure he would get into the Bayern Munich side. He's a fine player, but he is not a Zidane, or a Maradona. Far from it.
Hard to gauge the best measure of these things. I keep hearing what a 'great' player Kevin Pietersen is/was, but I remember the many times when he failed and I looked up his Test average.... it's 47. Well that's very good, but was he just a touch short of 'greatness'? Some people talk about KP like he was averaging 60. What they do remember were the big and dynamic hundreds. What they forget are the number of times he threw his wicket away early on, often in a tough situation.
Look at the England side today and most of the established batters average in the 40s, Bell I think is around 45, almost at KP's level, or is he? Bell is a very fine player, very good technique and good to watch when he gets in. Is he great? Ask Shane Warne.
Cook could well make the most runs, most centuries, face the most balls, bat the most minutes etc etc for England - quite possibly, but partly because he could very well end up playing the most Tests by an Englishman too. |
Average of 39.7 vs Australia (25 matches)
Average of 40.5 vs South Africa (11 matches)
Don't know who you consider 3rd best - bit of a drop below those two if you ask me (and South Africa well ahead of Aus for what that's worth)
So while you're basically spot on with expecting it to be below (or around) 40, that's not terrible considering his overall average against all nations is 46. Probably about the level of drop-off you'd expect. |  | | |
| Alastair Cook on 00:44 - Aug 1 with 574 views | QPR1882 |
Surprised Liverpool have not put an offer in for him , They seem to be buying anyone who plays well in Hampshire at the moment. |  | | |
| Alastair Cook on 01:10 - Aug 1 with 567 views | Kiwi76 |
From an outsiders perspective think Cook is v. good player but not ideal captain as doesn't seem to take action to take control of games. Fine when you are racking up 4-500+ first innings and bowlers do their job but not so good if games get tighter.
Our Kiwi skipper (McCullum) is opposite and we will lose games as a result but we've just won series in West Indies as a result of him declaring with 307 to win. He didn't bat well all tour but won series due to his aggressive approach. |  | | |
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| Alastair Cook on 08:30 - Aug 1 with 500 views | coolranger |
| Alastair Cook on 01:10 - Aug 1 by Kiwi76 |
From an outsiders perspective think Cook is v. good player but not ideal captain as doesn't seem to take action to take control of games. Fine when you are racking up 4-500+ first innings and bowlers do their job but not so good if games get tighter.
Our Kiwi skipper (McCullum) is opposite and we will lose games as a result but we've just won series in West Indies as a result of him declaring with 307 to win. He didn't bat well all tour but won series due to his aggressive approach. |
I don't know much about McCullum as a captain, but given the approach he takes to his batting I'm not surprised to hear what you say. Captaining NZ with limited resources is far more of a challenge.
I remember a few years ago when there was discussion around a World XI to play Australia and many called for Stephen Fleming to captain the side - he was rated very highly as an astute, innovative captain and leader of men.
Didn't quite cut it with his batting though. In that second group of 'very good players' - nine hundreds I think and averaged around 39. | | | |
| Alastair Cook on 08:35 - Aug 1 with 494 views | coolranger |
| Alastair Cook on 00:06 - Aug 1 by Match82 |
Average of 39.7 vs Australia (25 matches)
Average of 40.5 vs South Africa (11 matches)
Don't know who you consider 3rd best - bit of a drop below those two if you ask me (and South Africa well ahead of Aus for what that's worth)
So while you're basically spot on with expecting it to be below (or around) 40, that's not terrible considering his overall average against all nations is 46. Probably about the level of drop-off you'd expect. |
I think one of the measures of 'greatness' for a batsman is the ability to change a game and most importantly dominate the opposition from time to time.
Cook is essentially an accumulator. He could bat for two days, as he did once in Brisbane, not many can do that.
But his game is limited, and so against the very best attacks they will starve him of his 3 main scoring shots - at which point it becomes a war of attrition, with much then depending on the nature of the pitch. | | | |
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