Alastair Cook still enjoying England captaincy, says Andrew Strauss
Wednesday 16 November 2016 23:37, UK
England and Wales Cricket Board director Andrew Strauss says he would be stunned if Alastair Cook stood down as England skipper at the end of the ongoing series in India.
Cook caused some consternation when he told The Cricketer magazine: "Deep down I don't know how much longer I am going to carry on. It could be two months, it could be a year."
But the prolific 31-year-old opener has since played down those comments and Strauss is confident that Cook is not contemplating resignation.
"He's given me no indication that is his line of thinking at the moment," said Strauss.
"One thing we've consistently done is find time at the end of series to have a conversation about what direction the team is going in, what challenges there are, and for him personally how much the captaincy is taking out of him.
"We've done that a couple of times, and it is guaranteed we'll have a similar conversation at the end of this series.
"Every indication he has given me is he is driven, he's passionate, he's motivated, he's loving this environment - and he's excited about some of the young players coming through.
"From what I've seen, he is in a really good place.
"I think he is very comfortable leading this team, as he has been for a while now, so it probably takes less out of him than it used to.
"He's batting well, which is a big part of it, and he's still young. It is quite scary how young he is really, and I have every faith that he will carry on past this series and into the summer.
"Alastair has still got a lot of cricket left in him whether he is captain or not, in my opinion."
Strauss also thinks Eoin Morgan will continue as one-day captain, despite sitting out the tour of Bangladesh due to concerns over security.
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Strauss said: "It was a difficult process leading into the Bangladesh tour, and we told the players there wouldn't be any recriminations for pulling out.
"I stand by what I said, and there is every reason to expect Eoin Morgan will come back in as captain against India.
"He's done a great job with the one-day team over the last 18 months, and it has been a phenomenal transformation.
"He has to take a lot of credit for that, and we look forward to him continuing that."
