Alastair Cook: Matt Prior says question marks over captain are affecting England
'But it would be a big call to change skipper at this stage'
Wednesday 17 December 2014 14:02, UK
Matt Prior thinks the “negativity” over Alastair Cook’s place in England’s one-day side could inhibit the team’s young players.
Cook’s limp run with the bat in 50-over cricket – he has not scored a century since 2012 – coupled with England’s poor results in ODIs has seen the skipper’s position come into question ahead of the World Cup.
ECB managing director Paul Downton said it would be “a risk” to axe Cook two months out from a global tournament, though did admit a final decision would be made on Saturday morning before England’s World Cup squad announcement.
And wicketkeeper Prior, who is currently recuperating from an Achilles injury that has kept him out of cricket since July, suggested Cook could be replaced in order to boost team morale.
Pressure
“There are reasons why Cook is still England captain but you can’t get away from the fact that he is not scoring runs,” Prior told Sky Sports during England’s 87-run defeat to Sri Lanka in the seventh ODI in Colombo.
“That will continue to put pressure on not just Alastair and the selectors but most importantly the team, and the team environment must come before any one individual.
“All these question marks and negativity about Cook will rub of onto the young players and I think there is a responsibility to put the team first.
It’s not as simple as one man goes out, another comes in – you would be changing the whole environment.
“When I came to the very difficult decision (to take a break), it was because I was injured and not able to perform to the level I wanted.
“I wasn’t adding anything to the team and was actually hindering it, plus Jos Buttler was knocking on the door.
“So when I made that decision to move out, the team was reinvigorated, purely because I took that negativity with me.”
Flames
However, Prior warned that there may not be a seamless transition if Cook was replaced as captain and that if there was a switch at this late stage, England coach Peter Moores would want to have a huge input.
“Thinking logically, if you change the captain, everything changes,” added Prior, who played for England in the 2011 World Cup on the subcontinent.
“It’s not as simple as one man goes out, another comes in – you would be changing the whole environment.
“You talk about stability in a dressing room and everyone knowing their role. But that could go up in flames two months before a World Cup and that’s not ideal.
“Another thing is that the coach-captain relationship is going to be very important. So you’d have thought Moores will have a big say on who is captain for the World Cup.”
Head to Sky Sports News HQ on Saturday for news of England's World Cup squad.
