James Anderson praises Alastair Cook but backs Joe Root to seize the opportunity whenever he is handed the captaincy

England speedster James Anderson has praised English Test skipper Alastair Cook and said he has come along a long way as the England skipper and has developed his leadership skills with time. Anderson’s statement comes at a time when there has been a growing uncertainty over the future of Alastair Cook after England’s lacklustre performance of late.

England was steamrolled 4-0 in the recent Test series against India and also lost their first Test to Bangladesh during the 2 match series. With the next Ashes just 10 months away, it will be an interesting thing to find out whether Cook remains the captain or Root take over from him.

Anderson believes that Cook’s calming influence in the dressing room has had a major role to make England play fearless and their natural brand of cricket. “I think he’s (Cook) done well, there’s a lot of things that he’s probably not that natural with to start with,” Cook was quoted as saying by the DailyMail.

“Tactically he’s learnt a lot, improved a lot. Speaking to the group, he wasn’t great but he’s improved so much over the last couple years. So I think he’s done fantastically well. We’ve got quite a young squad, and just trying to get guys to go out there and express themselves, show off their talent. I think Cooky’s been a big driver of trying to get people to relax and play their natural way, ” Anderson added.

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Joe Root who has been backed by many to become England’s next Test captain also feels the same and said his growing maturity on and off the field has kept him in good stead to take over the reign from Cook. Anderson backed Root’s words and echoed the same views.

“Joe’s already quite a mature guy. He might look young but he’s pretty mature compared to some. Obviously, fatherhood gives him a bit more responsibility and something else to think about away from the game. I think he’ll cope with it brilliantly.

“He’s (Root) a very good batsman, he’s our best player by a long way and he’s been brilliant the last few years, gone from strength to strength and he’s made himself into one of the best players in the world, so to have someone like that in your team is incredible really. That’s going to be a massive part of our success in the future,” Anderson concluded.