Tuesday 20 December 2016 23:04, UK
England have lost eight Test matches under Alastair Cook's leadership this year - so should he carry on as skipper?
In the aftermath of England's 4-0 defeat to India, here are the views of three former England captains…
SIR IAN BOTHAM
"First and foremost, is it his fault that England have lost those Tests? It wasn't his fault today in Chennai - some of the batting was appalling. There were too many soft dismissals. I don't think you can blame Alastair Cook for that.
"Cook is the only person who knows if he still wants it and is still hungry for it. Does he want to go and sit in front of the press after a day's play like this and try to explain himself? If he does, then fine he should carry on captaining but you have to give him that opportunity - I feel he has done enough to have the choice.
"He should go home now and let the dust settle. A lot of his players need to look at themselves in the mirror and ask if they did their best. That'll give him the chance to talk things over with his family."
NASSER HUSSAIN
"I don't think he should go - but on the one proviso that he still has that fight and stubbornness in him. Only he knows that. I have to say that sometimes his body language looked a bit too happy, as if he's climbed his mountain - he had his redemption against Australia in 2015. Does he need this anymore? He's just had another young child.
"This is not a job you can do half-heartedly. He has to give it everything because he's not a tactical genius - he has made loads of errors out there. But he always has done as captain. It's like his batting, it's not a work of art, but in the end there is a result where you think 'look at those stats' and that's what his captaincy is like.
"But he is a very dangerous man to write off. We've all done it in the past. But this is a double-Ashes winning captain, who has won in India and South Africa. Cook is at his best when he has a point to prove. He is a stubborn so-and-so, and you write him off at your peril. Mentally, he is one of the toughest cricketers I have ever seen on this planet."
MICHAEL ATHERTON
"There is only so much you can take. Alastair Cook has soaked up more than most. It may look different in a month's time when he's had a rest but looking at him after the defeat he looked like a man who'd had enough. If I was a betting man, I reckon he'll step down in time. I don't think he'll be sacked but I think he'll probably feel like he's done enough; that would be my best guest.
"He looked absolutely shell-shocked. He had that haunted look that I've seen in many England captains' eyes. This was a bad defeat. We thought Mumbai was a bad defeat, but they've gone worse here in Chennai.
"There were hints of humiliation in this defeat; 477 is the highest score ever made in a Test match to lose by an innings. They've been absolutely walloped and as a captain, he's just feeling absolutely shell-shocked right now. I've been there, when I resigned."
Enjoy a cracking Christmas with Sky Sports as we bring you continued live coverage of England's tour of India, South Africa's Test series against Sri Lanka and the ODIs between New Zealand and Bangladesh.
