Alastair Cook has said he and Andrew Strauss, the director of England cricket, will consider the long-term needs of the team when they discuss his continuation as the Test captain in the new year.
Cook, who turns 32 on Christmas Day, admitted after the defeat in the fourth Test that the 3-0 series loss in India has led to him having questions over the role and stated his belief that Joe Root, his vice-captain and expected successor, is ready to lead the side.
Since Strauss took over as the team director in May 2015, he and Cook have discussed the issue of captaincy on a series-by-series basis. Their next meeting will take a broader view given Root may require time to mould his side against South Africa and West Indies next summer before the Ashes series that begins in Australia on 23 November.
“It’s a natural thing that happens with me and Straussy now,” Cook told BBC Test Match Special. “Often my future comes up and how we want to move forward. This would be no different to any of those other meetings and we are going to have to discuss what is the best thing for English cricket. You have to be very careful about decisions that are made in the heat of the moment that have a long-term effect on yourself and the team.”
The prospect of Root’s promotion has resulted in trepidation in some quarters over the impact it would have on his batting. Virat Kohli, whose role as India’s captain has brought with it a surge in personal returns, expects the 25-year-old to have the temperament to make the step up.
Of the top four Test batsmen in the world – Australia’s Steve Smith, Kohli, Root and New Zealand’s Kane Williamson – the Englishman is the only one not leading his country.
Kohli, who has scored 2,096 runs at an average of 65.5 since replacing MS Dhoni two years ago, admits it is a leap into the unknown. “It depends on the individual, to be honest,” he said. “Joe is an outstanding player, I have been very fond of his game and the way he plays. He is very positive. He always thinks of any situation as an opportunity.
“I don’t know what captaincy will do to that. Captaincy is not just about the 10 guys on the field or having a squad and interacting with the management. It comes with a whole package of interacting with the media, having people expect things out of you in a different way, having the onus of the country on your shoulders as far as the sport is concerned.
“It is very different how individuals react to it. Joe looks like he has the temperament to do it but you can only tell when he actually gets into the scheme of things and how he will react only he can answer that question. But from what I have seen in how he conducts himself on the field, he has been a great batsman for England and I think he is equipped enough to handle that job as well.”
Cook claims the impact, if positive, can last around two years before a captain’s returns level out to their career average. In his case, despite an early glut, his average in charge is only a tick over his overall mean of 46.6.
“You just never know. I think a lot of players have a bit of a spurt when they first take over the captaincy and it levels out after a couple of years, when you probably find your genuine level,” Cook said.
“I was asked a very direct question [about Root stepping up] a couple of days ago about it. But the moment he got off the plane in India in 2012 as a very young-looking Joe Root you knew his mind and his game was ready for international cricket. Every challenge that’s been thrown at him he’s handled. So I don’t think anything over the next few years will faze him.”