Geoffrey Boycott calls for Alastair Cook's resignation again
Former England batting great Geoffrey Boycott has once again called for England captain Alastair Cook’s resignation after the first Test between England and India. He made a similar claim in the middle of the Sri Lanka series which the hosts lost 1-0 last month.
"If Alastair Cook fails twice at Lord's in the second Test (against India) then he should stand down temporarily from the England captaincy," Boycott wrote in his column for the Daily Telegraph.
"I am not saying sack the guy. You sack players who have only played two or three Tests and cannot cut it at the top level. This is a player with 25 Test hundreds, one of our best of all time. He will come good again. But he cannot carry on like this because his form embarrasses the team and puts pressure on all the other players.
"The talk is constantly about the captain's runs. It should be about the team and not him. The team is bigger than him. Cook should see himself, without anybody having to tell him, that if he does not score runs then he must act before the outcry becomes too loud," stated Boycott.
Cook’s dip in form
In the first Test match, Cook lost his leg stump moving across in an attempt to cover the line just outside the off stump. It is no hidden fact that Cook has been struggling for runs and has not managed to score a century for 13 matches on the trot. The 73-year-old also threw light on the fact that having an under performing captain will disturb the side’s morale. However, he did not rule out a comeback for Cook.
"He could still come back as captain and batsman when he has rediscovered his confidence and form. At the moment the other players are having to support him as well as cope with their own problems. You cannot have a captain in that situation, especially when you are not winning," he said.
"I know he had a bit of bad luck in the first innings but bad luck tends to go with bad form. If he starts getting runs, good things will happen. That is the way it is in life."
Boycott on the pitch at Trent Bridge
Commenting on the quality of the Trent Bridge pitch which was under the scanner for the first Test match that ended in a dull draw: "Both sets of seam bowlers were flogged trying and failing to get any bounce out of this slow, low, lifeless pitch. It was like banging the ball into porridge. The public will not keep paying huge ticket prices to see a no-contest.
"We have seven Tests during our summer and if we play on decks like this our seam bowlers will become exhausted and lose their enthusiasm. Every country has the right to request and get from the groundsmen surfaces that suit their bowlers,” the batsmen with more than 8000 Test runs said.
It is can be noted that even Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni called for some ‘English’ conditions for the series.
"It has always happened and there is nothing in the laws of cricket against it. It is not cheating or gamesmanship, just common sense. If we keep getting pitches like this one our fast bowlers will be midgets by the end of the summer or injured.
"We want pitches with pace and seam movement. If England get outplayed then we need to put our hands up and say that is our fault but we should back ourselves to beat India in English conditions. You have to believe in yourself," he added that England should not be hesitant in preparing seaming pitches,” Boycott further wrote.
The second of the five-match Test series begins on Thursday at Lord’s.