Alastair Cook won't improve as a player: Ricky Ponting

Legendary Australian batsman Ricky Ponting has said that England captain Alastair Cook, who has been having a terrible run, of late, both as a batsman and a leader with his team losing 7 of the last 9 Tests including the Ashes and a home Test series against Sri Lanka, is not going to get any better as a player and that his batting will be affected by the results of his team.

In the 5 Tests this year, Cook has scored 129 runs at an average of 14.33, only 10 more than England’s No. 11 James Anderson. After being bounced out by Ishant Sharma at Lord’s, England now trail 0-1 against India in the 5-match series and, hurt by Cook’s lack of tactical nous, are looking directionless on the field.

With former England captains calling for his head, Ponting, statistically the most successful captain ever, said: “He’ll try and find ways to sort of hang on and maintain a certain level. I don't think he's going to get any better as a player. There's no doubt that the struggles of his team will be having a big impact on the way that he's playing.”

Captain Cook will not be missed

Speaking to Sky Sports, Nasser Hussain, a former England captain, said: "He needs to ask himself, '(am I) making a difference as a captain to this England side?' The stats tell you that he's not. Would we miss Alastair if he was not captain at the Ageas Bowl? If Michael Clarke was suddenly not captain of Australia I think they would miss him.”

"If Alastair Cook was not captain of England at the Ageas Bowl would we look up and say 'we're missing the tactical genius of Alastair Cook?' We wouldn't."

With Cook’s scores of 5, 10 and 22 in the series so far and his opening partner Sam Robson’s struggles, England lack solidity at the top, which has left the likes of Joe Root and Gary Ballance with too much to handle.