Alastair Cook has questioned England's priorities, days after selectors named their strongest available white-ball squad to take on Sri Lanka this week, just days after an under-strength Test team took New Zealand for their first since 2014. The home series lost for defeat.
Cook, who was England's captain when they were overturned by Sri Lanka in a thrilling last-ball defeat at Headingley seven years ago, said he had great sympathy for his successor Joe Root, who was his first choice in each XI. are deprived of. England's last eight Tests, dating back to the tour of Sri Lanka in January.
Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer were injured this summer and were unavailable as New Zealand won at Edgbaston for their first series win in England since 1999, but Jos Buttler due to return to the white-ball side Missing everyone. England's last five Test matches since their victory in Chennai in March.
None of England's other IPL-contracted players were made available for the New Zealand series, meaning even proven performers such as Sam Curran, Chris Woakes, Jonny Bairstow and Moeen Ali were unable to balance the side that Root admitted that he was "one-sided". "Even before their eight-wicket loss. And Cook, speaking at the launch of Yorkshire Tee's #NationalCricketWeek, said the situation in which England have trapped themselves "makes no sense".
"Obviously it was disappointing," Cook said. "England have put themselves in a tough position for the winter. It was going great, winning in Sri Lanka and then they went 1-0 up against India. Then it was time for the players to rest and rotate. , from that moment they have ended up chasing their tails - ending with fifth-choice wicketkeeper [James Bracey], an unbalanced side, even though the guys were playing [T20] blast.
"You have a Test captain who hasn't played his best team, yet we are playing at full strength in the T20I against Sri Lanka," he said. "The decisions don't look like they've been made the right way. Of course they're trying their best to make the right decisions for the right reasons, but when you're playing for England, you're judged by the final results Time goes by, then you have to say it didn't work.
"I really feel sorry for Joe Root because he doesn't have his best players. You can't buy the experience of people like Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Jonny Bairstow, Moeen Ali. Players like this make a big difference. keep.
"When you look at it differently, it doesn't make sense what happened, but how they got there, you can half understand. It's been tough, and they found that against a better team." New Zealand Series."
New Zealand have displayed their excellence by enjoying the upper hand in the limited game that has been possible in the World Test Championship final against India in Southampton. And with five home Tests against India to come, Cook is confident England can quickly make up for their loss - citing their 4-1 series win in 2018 as proof of their enduring prowess on home soil. in the form of.
"In those 10 days of cricket, he got to know them against a better team," Cook said. "India [away] was a different lesson, but it was a tough one. They didn't bat well, and it was disappointing to watch from the side.
Referring to the top five of Rory Burns, Dom Sibley, Jack Crawley, Root and Ollie Pope, who played both Tests against New Zealand, he said, "I would say these players are the best." With the notable exception of Burns, who scored a century at Lord's and another 82 at Edgbaston, he all underperformed, especially in the second innings at Edgbaston, where England were bundled out for 122 when their bowlers had given them a chance. a fight.
"You can probably change a thing or two, but these guys are constantly performing for their county," Cook said. He said, "Except Dan Lawrence, he has scored all Test centuries in the past. But it seems, when the pressure is on, he has yet to find his way to be able to answer it.
"Is that the confidence, because they are quite a young batting side except for Ruthie... You would say, Ollie Pope had some more experienced players. But I was disappointed. A lot of people talk about techniques, but these There are techniques that get him a lot of runs, and he has also scored Test centuries. But when there is pressure, he finds no way to handle that pressure, and so he plays some bad shots."
Stokes' return for the India series will provide a great injection of experience - he returned for Durham on Sunday after breaking a finger in the IPL - and Cook was hopeful that the team's return would improve as a result.
"It will be a better team with the players coming back against India," he said. "They will obviously be better balanced, which, I think, is a big issue for them and forced some weird selections against New Zealand, like no spinners on a dry wicket.
"India have shown how good they are at the moment as they are in the final of the World Test Championship, but in England more than five Test matches, it is difficult to beat England at home, and I am looking forward to a very tough fight.
"India will have been here for a long time so can be mentally exhausted by the end of the tour. India will start very well, but in five matches in a row, it is a significant effort to beat England at home. So I think That if England joins India early, there's no reason they can't win."
Cook also paid tribute to his longtime teammate, James Anderson, who became England's all-time capped player in 161 Tests at Edgbaston. Anderson took just three wickets at 68.66 against New Zealand, and didn't take a wicket with the new ball, but Cook was adamant that he would get a big response in the India series.
"It's a superhuman effort. He probably didn't bowl as well as he would have liked in those two games, really. But to play as many Tests as he has and still see that he has the appetite and Desire is wonderful.
"We know he has the skills to do that and, speaking to him later, he was looking forward to taking the India series ahead. It's extraordinary to do what he has done for so long. England fans, Players, as long as they are here, the media should appreciate them."