Peter Moores reluctant to take captaincy off Alastair Cook's shoulders
After a series of humiliating losses suffered by England, it is the skipper, Alastair Cook who is on notice now. A huge debate is going on whether to continue him as a skipper or not. But the England coach, Peter Moores has asserted that he is not looking forward to swapping captains in a bid to get Cook – the batsman – back to his best form as the captain himself has not desired to do so.
Moores said, "No it wouldn't cross my mind. The key here is, does Alastair want to captain England? Yes, he desperately does want to."
Cook was appointed as the captain of the ODI and Test teams following his fellow opener Andrew Strauss's retirement in 2011 and 2012 respectively. In 2012 he captained England to its first Test series victory on Indian soil since 1984–85. But it is now 24 innings since the southpaw scored the last of his England record 25 Test centuries, a sequence that includes the 100-run second Test defeat by Sri Lanka at Headingley on Tuesday that gave the tourists a two-match series 1-0.
After a 5-0 whitewash in Ashes, England appointed a new managing director in Paul Downton, a new chairman of selectors in James Whitaker and recalled Moores as head coach for the 2nd time and the trio unanimously agree that Cook has to remain as the captain and it is impossible to dethrone him even on a temporary basis, with a five-Test series at home to India coming soon.
"He (Cook) wasn't on the field, but it was one of his best days as England captain because one of the challenges at this level is that it becomes so easy to go internal when things aren't going well, but he came in with one clear view to make sure that everybody knew we were going to fight and show sprit as a team," Moores explained.
"That was the job of everybody. Whether you could influence the game or not. If you weren't influencing the game on the field then you were going to help with input off it and the way he carried himself and the way he worked said something about him and his character and his appetite for the job," Moores reasoned his backing for Cook.
Moores added: "I look at that and the way he is talking in interviews, he has got a drive and a desire to build the team and put his own stamp on it. My job is to help him do that. People genuinely see, as a bloke, he's a solid Englishman who wants to do well for his country. He's done that in the past and will do in the future.
"Alastair ... is a very determined, steely bloke. He's got a clear picture of what he wants as a team and how that team should operate. If he gets himself into form someone is going to pay," the former Sussex stumper left some positive comments on Cook’s form with the bat as he concluded.