Alastair Cook steps down as captain of England Test team

England Test captain Alastair Cook who was last week bestowed upon with the CBE award by the Prince of Wales has announced his decision to step down as the captain of the England Test team after leading them in 59 Tests. He will, however, be available for selection as a player. Cook was under tremendous pressure in recent times and it aggravated further as the touring England side lost the Test series 4-0 to No.1 ranked India.

After over a month of speculations, Cook took his time and has made the decision to no longer captain the England team. Cook took over the reins from Andrew Strauss in August 2012 and is the most caped Test captain in England cricket history. After the tour of India, he took his time to discuss it with his family as well as England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) team director Strauss along with Chairman Colin Graves and the selection committee.

ECB accepted his resignation and have initiated the procedure to appoint England’s 80th Test skipper. Talking about his decision, Alastair Cook said: “It’s been a huge honour to be England captain and to lead the Test team over the past five years. Stepping down has been an incredibly hard decision but I know this is the correct decision for me and at the right time for the team.

“I’ve had time to reflect after the India series and this weekend I spoke to Colin Graves, the Chairman, to explain and offer my resignation. It’s a sad day personally in many ways but I want to thank everyone I’ve captained, all the coaches and support staff and, of course, the England supporters and the Barmy Army who follow us home and away and have given us unwavering support.” He was quoted by ECB.co.uk as saying.

“Playing for England really is a privilege and I hope to carry on as a Test player, making a full contribution and helping the next England captain and the team however I can.”

Strauss thanked Cook on behalf of England cricket for his contribution to the game as skipper. “I want to thank Alastair, on behalf of the ECB and from a personal perspective, for the fantastic contribution that he’s made to the England Test team since taking over as Captain in 2012.

“His country owes him a great debt of gratitude; he’s led the team with determination, conviction and a huge amount of pride over the last five years and his record stands for itself. With more matches leading the team than anyone, including two Ashes wins, he deserves to be seen as one of our country’s great captains.

“Off the field as well as on, he has shown his strengths, developing the team and its culture, managing a fundamental transition and helping us to build for the future.  As with all leaders, there have been times where circumstances have tested him but his resilience and temperament have helped him to prevail and to prosper.

“He has always served with the best interests of the team in the front of his mind and stays true to that as he steps down from the role. Alastair will be missed in his capacity as Captain but I hope that he has a number of years left to add to his record-breaking feats as an opening batsman and look forward to his continued success.” Strauss said.

They will now be looking forward to spreading the sheet, putting up all the possible candidates and then electing the best player who they think can lead England cricket to a better future.

“We now move on with the process of appointing the right successor. There are a number of established players who are playing formal or informal leadership roles and whilst we’ve rightly not spoken to anyone in relation to the Test captaincy so far, we can now talk fully and openly within the team. We expect to be able to make an announcement before the team head to the West Indies on 22nd February.”

Cook had a chat with chairman Colin Graves and he believes that the decision is in the best interest of the team. “Alastair called me this weekend to offer his resignation and to explain the reasons behind it.  This was clearly a very hard decision and I thoroughly respect the way it’s been made, with the team at the core of his thinking.

“His leadership has brought some huge successes for the England team and even in difficult times he has always shown his character, stayed composed and seen things through.

“Over the last two years he has also paved the way for our future and his work will help the transition to the next Test captain and the further development of this team. As he continues to play for England, I know that he’ll be very supportive of his successor and the next generation of players.

“Of course, as a batsman he’s one of the all-time greats. We owe him our gratitude, thank him for his commitment to England and look forward to watching him score plenty more runs for England.”