The fingers have started getting pointed towards Alastair Cook again, this time not on his captaincy, but, on his batting in One Day International Cricket.
Even before the start of the 2nd match against India, some of the former England players had said that Cook is not a player for 50-over format and the sooner he leaves that format, the better it would be for him as well for as England cricket and it seems that they were right in their opinions.
Cook again took quite a bit of time at the top of the order yesterday in Cardiff. He ended up with a strike rate of about 67 which could have been much lower if he had not got two boundaries towards the end of his innings.
However, Alex Hales was scoring so freely at the other end that Cook could afford that time, but, definitely, the England selectors need to think about it.
Because, on days, when Hales get out early, England will get stuck with Ian Bell at no. 3 who is also a defensive player like Cook.
Also, Cook’s low strike rate can put unnecessary pressure on Hales who, even if he is not having a great day, will have to go for his shots and he might end up giving his wicket away in that process.
England can afford to play only one out of Cook and Bell in One Day Cricket. Some of the English fans might not agree to it, but, that’s the bitter truth.
In modern day cricket, a-run-a-ball is the minimum that one should score even in the middle overs, forget about the slog overs during which the batsmen tend to go nuts these days. But, the current England set up finds hard to do it because of their conservative approach.