Alastair Cook dismissal better late than never for England
With the World Cup two months away the England and Wales Cricket Board`s decision to sack Alastair Cook as one-day captain was very much a case of better late than never.
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London: With the World Cup two months away the England and Wales Cricket Board`s decision to sack Alastair Cook as one-day captain was very much a case of better late than never.
The 29-year-old has been woefully out of form with the bat and has struggled all year in the 50-over format, making 523 runs in 20 matches at a mediocre average of 27.52.
During England`s recent 5-2 one-day series defeat in Sri Lanka, Cook looked rigid at the crease and short of ideas in the field -- a dismal combination which ultimately proved to be his downfall.
"I am gutted to be left out of the World Cup squad and it is likely to take me a while to get over the disappointment," Cook said.
"That said I wish ... the lads all the best for the World Cup."
Although the decision to remove Cook has been taken in a last- ditch attempt to revive England`s fortunes at the World Cup, the timing has been called into question.
"To get rid of him now when he`s taken lots of punches for some people (at the ECB) is naughty," former England bowler Steve Harmison told the BBC. "I`d like them to have done it six months ago."
Swashbuckling middle-order batsman Eoin Morgan will lead England`s World Cup charge against Pool A opponents Australia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Scotland.
Despite faring worse than Cook with the bat in 2014, averaging 25.45, the 28-year-old Middlesex left-hander has an impressive record in the eight one-day matches in which he has captained England, piling up 427 runs at an average of 71.16.
"Morgan is a very aggressive, flamboyant entertainer and we all dream of England playing that way too," former England captain Michael Vaughan wrote in The Telegraph.
"He knows the modern ways of one-day cricket and he has a lot of very talented youngsters coming through."
England warm up for the World Cup by playing in a Tri-Series tournament in Australia next month which also features India.
They will hope Morgan can inject much-needed energy and belief into a side desperately short of confidence.