Quote from: ACVilla on February 06, 2017, 02:44:59 PMQuote from: paul_e on February 06, 2017, 02:10:43 PMQuote from: PaulWinch again on February 06, 2017, 01:04:32 PMHope he can continue for a few years as a player.Openng batsmen don't last as captain for all that long because combining the 2 jobs is mentally exhausting and Cook looked like he needed a break in the India tour.Alastair Cook 59 matches as captainAndrew Strauss 50 matches as captainMichael Atherton 54 matches as cpatainGraham Gooch 34 matches as captainAll openers and 4 of England's top 6 longest serving captain's.Indeed, and now look at their batting averages from before they got the role and series on series as captain, they all have a clear downward trajectory.
Quote from: paul_e on February 06, 2017, 02:10:43 PMQuote from: PaulWinch again on February 06, 2017, 01:04:32 PMHope he can continue for a few years as a player.Openng batsmen don't last as captain for all that long because combining the 2 jobs is mentally exhausting and Cook looked like he needed a break in the India tour.Alastair Cook 59 matches as captainAndrew Strauss 50 matches as captainMichael Atherton 54 matches as cpatainGraham Gooch 34 matches as captainAll openers and 4 of England's top 6 longest serving captain's.
Quote from: PaulWinch again on February 06, 2017, 01:04:32 PMHope he can continue for a few years as a player.Openng batsmen don't last as captain for all that long because combining the 2 jobs is mentally exhausting and Cook looked like he needed a break in the India tour.
Hope he can continue for a few years as a player.
There are very few captains in world cricket who bow out on top, either the game management or their own game falls away (or both).
Quote from: paul_e on February 07, 2017, 01:21:06 PMThere are very few captains in world cricket who bow out on top, either the game management or their own game falls away (or both).Nothing to do with captaincy, there are very, very few sportsmen and women in the world who bow out on top, captain or just in the ranks.
Gooch had that great home series against India which made him but in the ashes series where he retired he looked utterly broken (him looking lost in that series is one of the most enduring memories I have of watching cricket as a teenager) but then came back and put in a few really good batting performances before he retired.I think being a good captain without it affecting your own game requires a very specific mindset, partially that's about underlying personality but form/frame of mind/desire all play a part and those things change over time. There are very few captains in world cricket who bow out on top, either the game management or their own game falls away (or both). Cook has never been a great game manager anyway and in the last 2-3 series his flaws have been quite stark, that's why I firmly believe it's the right decision and I said as much towards the end of the test series. Good guy and great batsman but not the right captain for us any more.
Quote from: paul_e on February 07, 2017, 01:21:06 PMGooch had that great home series against India which made him but in the ashes series where he retired he looked utterly broken (him looking lost in that series is one of the most enduring memories I have of watching cricket as a teenager) but then came back and put in a few really good batting performances before he retired.I think being a good captain without it affecting your own game requires a very specific mindset, partially that's about underlying personality but form/frame of mind/desire all play a part and those things change over time. There are very few captains in world cricket who bow out on top, either the game management or their own game falls away (or both). Cook has never been a great game manager anyway and in the last 2-3 series his flaws have been quite stark, that's why I firmly believe it's the right decision and I said as much towards the end of the test series. Good guy and great batsman but not the right captain for us any more.That India series was in 1990. Over the next 4 years - he retired in 95 at the end of the ashes series in Aus- he scored 2839 runs post that India series and until his final tour. He had scored 7 test centuries and 10 half centuries over 6 series (including a one off test v Sri lanka). This is from roughly 35-40 innings and before a double century v New Zealand in 94 (he didn't have a good series then). his average also went up from around 41 to 44 post that India series. So, no, Gooch did more than have a good series against india - but yes his end was pretty quick.
Root has played 53 tests though and is the same age Cook was when he became captain (roughly). On top of that who else is there? Ignoring Cook there's only really Broad and Anderson with more experience than Root who are likely to start and I have an even bigger problem with opening bowlers being captains than I do opening batsmen. Whenever I've seen a quick bowler as captain they all fall 1 of 2 ways and either under bowl themselves or run themselves into the ground.
Joe Root is the new Test captainhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/38954275