England were wrong to sack me: Former captain Alastair Cook

Alastair Cook

Former England cricket team captain Alastiar Cook has said that it was wrong by the England Cricket Board (ECB) to sack him ahead of the World Cup Down Under. He admitted that the selectors had the country’s best interests in their mind, but ‘hindsight has proved them wrong’.

“England needed real leadership at the World Cup”

He admitted, “The selectors made that decision, because they thought it was the best for English cricket. Hindsight has probably proved them wrong but now it's very easy to say that. But I think you saw in Australia the dangers of making such a big decision so close to the tournament.

“I don’t know what’s gone on on that tour, and I can only speak from watching a little bit from afar, but it did look like the lads were shell shocked from the first two games (defeats against hosts Australia and New Zealand).

“That’s when you need real leadership to help steer you through that. Whether I would have made a difference, I don’t know. But I was fully confident we would get out of our group and, from there, you’ve got to win three games in a row – that’s how this World Cup has worked.”

“England did well under me”

The 30-year-old believes that the team was doing well under him, having reached the No. 1 spot in ODI rankings at one point. He said that leading England was a huge honour and something he is extremely proud of.

“I’m always going to have a slightly biased view on that (how England did under him). I was there for three and a half years trying to do a job. We got to No. 1 in the world with a full-strength side and got to the final of the Champions Trophy.

“There were things I can be very proud of. As any captain will tell you, leading your country in a World Cup is a huge honour and one that can never be taken lightly.

“I was very much looking forward to that. I understand the pressure I was under. I wasn’t scoring the runs I should, or could, have been scoring, so I understand that my position was in jeopardy.”

The left-hander is leading the England Test team and said that they have a repairing job at hand in the forthcoming Test series against West Indies.

Cook said, “We have a repairing job to do. We built that momentum a little bit after the Ashes 14 or 15 months ago with a slightly younger side, including the likes of Gary Ballance and Joe Root.

“There was a good feel-good factor about the English game in the middle of August after the Test matches. Since then, it's been tough going. We've got to rebuild again.”