James Anderson confident about Alastair Cook's leadership

England’s pace bowling spearhead James Anderson states that the dramatic loss to Sri Lanka last time in 2014 made him feel crushed.

England are set to begin their summer with a 3-Test series against Sri Lanka. The visitors have already arrived and are busy prepping up for the first Test of which will be played in Headingley, on May 19th. The hosts, however, did not have a great time the last time they played at this venue against the Lankans.

It was at this very venue that Sri Lanka recorded a historic penultimate ball victory to clinch a dramatic 1-0 series win last time around in 2014, after having themselves survived nervy moments in a thrilling draw in the first Test at Lord’s. Anderson was the last man to fall on that fateful evening, a moment that left him “crushed”.

“To get within two balls I did feel crushed at the end of it,” said Anderson – speaking at Lord’s on Sunday (May 8), after being named as the ambassador for Brut Sport Style. “It had been a long game and we came so close,” he added.

A close victory often draws strong criticism. And, the same was the matter with Alastair Cook whose tactics were heavily criticised. His strategy of conceding a single to the set batsman (Angelo Mathews, who made a superb 160) and looking to attack the tail-enders backfired superbly as Rangana Herath made 48 and was involved in a 149-run stand with his captain for the eighth wicket, turning around the match in spectacular fashion. His captaincy was termed ‘naive’ by the critics and Cook had even pondered about resigning from his job.

Anderson now believes that with experience and the presence of an able coach in the form of Trevor Bayliss, Cook has got past the phase where he was being panned by the critics for his ‘naivety’.

“It was gutting really and we’ll not be in that situation again this time,” said Anderson. “With a change of coach and a few different players in there as well, the last 12 months have been a real breath of fresh air,” he added.

He believes that Cook has now earned the respect of his peers and his command in England’s dressing room is comparable to those of Allan Border, Mark Taylor and Steve Waugh.

“I think Cooky’s done a fantastic job. Certainly since Trevor’s come in he’s taken more responsibility. He’s the guy that people look up to and he’s in charge. Obviously Trevor’s given him that responsibility so that’s been good.”

“All the teams I’ve ever played in it’s always been the coach at the forefront, so for the captain to be in charge, from what I hear that’s the way the Australians did it all the way through their success. So yes possibly he (Cook) is better equipped to deal with situations like that day against Sri Lanka now,” he signed off.

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