Print

[RoCo Da Pixie]

cook gone...

Dropped shortly? He is looking out of form

[Alvaro]

i feel he won't be dropped

[iand123]

I think Cook will get the rest of this series to prove himself, seems they really want him in the team.

[Alvaro]

he is vice captain ...

[Buzz]

I think Cook will get the rest of this series to prove himself, seems they really want him in the team.

Tough one this - Cook was our best batsman in Bangladesh - has a few bad days and people are calling for his head - having said that, in Bangaladesh opening is definitely the best place to bat.

Carberry is the next man in as a potential opener - and is in form, so he may get another go. The question is: do the selectors think he is going to come good? Cook has made a habit of being an "all or nothing player" he either gets out cheaply or gets in and makes a biggy.
The fact is when Cook goes back to Essex he always gets a mountain of runs (except for the start of this season interestingly.)
Personally I would stick with him, but if Bell was around, I would have him open the batting instead. As mentioned elsewhere, I am not a fan of moving Trott up to open - and I also think Cook will do well in Aus. Tough on Carberry - maybe, but I have this feeling that he is a journeyman pro who is having a decent run, rather than a true star in the making.
It makes no difference that he is vice captain, Kamran Akmal was VC of the Pak's

[iand123]

He looks very low on confidence. I think if it wasnt an Ashes winter they might have done to Cook what they did to Strauss a couple of years ago in NZ. Give him a winter off and a bit of a break and come back refreshed for the summer.

[Watsontotty]

They wont be quick to drop cook as he is seen as part of the senior set up and seen by many of the regime as the next England captain. Difficult to go along with this especially with the number of problems he has on a regular basis regarding his technique unless he finds his form and gets rid of the over technical side of batting he wont be a future captain in my book.

Very good player with far too many issues regarding his technique and style, constantly changing the way he plays and messing around with his game, when your in the middle of a test series you shouldn't have any issues regarding your technique or if you have then you shouldn't be in the team.

[Watsontotty]

Tough one this - Cook was our best batsman in Bangladesh - has a few bad days and people are calling for his head - having said that, in Bangaladesh opening is definitely the best place to bat.

Carberry is the next man in as a potential opener - and is in form, so he may get another go. The question is: do the selectors think he is going to come good? Cook has made a habit of being an "all or nothing player" he either gets out cheaply or gets in and makes a biggy.
The fact is when Cook goes back to Essex he always gets a mountain of runs (except for the start of this season interestingly.)
Personally I would stick with him, but if Bell was around, I would have him open the batting instead. As mentioned elsewhere, I am not a fan of moving Trott up to open - and I also think Cook will do well in Aus. Tough on Carberry - maybe, but I have this feeling that he is a journeyman pro who is having a decent run, rather than a true star in the making.
It makes no difference that he is vice captain, Kamran Akmal was VC of the Pak's

Very very interesting statement that concerning Cook in Auz, the Aussies don't rate cook at all and his record against them is very poor i think so i don't expect him to do much and with his current problems i wouldn't pick him.

[petehosk]

I still think that the powers will have half an eye on the Somerset v Hampshire game to see how Carberry does!
Or they should be at least! And who knows whagt's in the head of these selectors!!

[Alvaro]

And who knows whagt's in the head of these selectors!!

consistency? backing their men?

[Buzz]

He looks very low on confidence. I think if it wasnt an Ashes winter they might have done to Cook what they did to Strauss a couple of years ago in NZ. Give him a winter off and a bit of a break and come back refreshed for the summer.

I agree - and I think it would do him the power of good too. Make him play some grade cricket in Aus for a winter. It did Ravi Bop no harm spending last winter in NewZealand too...

On the technical aspects - I agree - I think he has been "over coached" and needs to clear his mind rather than thinking about his wonkey trigger movements, which is causing his head to dip at the moment of release, hence he can't play the moving ball and he has no control of where the ball is in relation to his off stump. He needs to ditch the trigger movement and stand still.
Easy for me to say from here. When I coached him at his prep school (aged 12) he didn't have any of these issues...!
Hoskers, i know you are a fan of the Carberry.

In Aus Cook averages 27 - during the worst tour in living memory from an Englaish perspective with a terrible skipper. I wouldn't hold that against him
http://stats.cricinfo.com/ci/engine/player/11728.html?class=1;home_or_away=2;host=2;opposition=2;template=results;type=allround

I couldn't care less who the Aussies rate or not. They keep picking Marcus North and who is that non spinning left arm slow pie chucker they pick too?

[procricket]

i think it is unlikely but if cook is dropped i doubt it will be carberry replacing him.

i would bring in a youngster not many would pick but i would

[Buzz]

i think it is unlikely but if cook is dropped i doubt it will be carberry replacing him.

Dave - I agree but, which rabbit do you think they will pull from the hat then if Cook was to be "rested"?

[petehosk]

It's not only that I'm a fan of Carberry - it's also that I believe that they play a lot of cricket over the season, and sometimes a player just hits bad form for various reason. So the normal resolution would be to rest them at International level and let them play themselves back into form at first class level.
And also a strong believer that you should normally play the in form players if possible, assuming there is a decent alternative to that bat placing! Therefore agree with you that the batting order should not be changed if humanly possible, as this can upset the mental attitude of the batsmen who get moved around. But if Cook is (obviously) out of form, and Carberry looks to be in good form and is a genuine opener, then that would surely be worth doing.
There is also the attitude that we should stick with Cook until he hits form again at International level, but if he still doesn't in 2 or 3 tests time, then what do we do then? At least if we test Carberry against Pakistan, then Cook gets a rest at that level and can go away and work on hitting good form again! And we can see for sure if Carberry is a true alternative to Cook as an opener?

[procricket]

hales and open trott and bring in hales at around 5 or 6