Big things were expected of former England captain Alastair Cook going into the Ashes and he was tipped to be the team’s most fearsome weapon with the bat. However, his first innings lasted just 10 balls before Mitchell Starc took his scalp and left England 2-1 after three overs.
It was an ignominious start to the tour for the Essex man, and Australia’s troops will sledge him mercilessly throughout the remainder of the series. England were rescued on the first day by a magnificent performance from the unheralded James Vince, but Cook’s dismissal will be a concern for the tourists.
In the absence of Ben Stokes – suspended by the England and Wales Cricket Board after he was arrested on suspicion of assault following a brawl outside a nightclub in Bristol – even more pressure is on Cook, along with Joe Root and Johnny Bairstow, as the senior statesmen in England’s batting department. Being bowled out for a piffling two runs early on day one does not exactly set a strong tone and will not inspire his younger teammates.
Cook has been out of sorts for a while now and his form was poor in the warm-up games. England legend Geoffrey Boycott is concerned about Cook’s level of performances at this crucial stage in the calendar. ‘If you look at his scores, he’s a very fine player,” he said. “His record is fantastic, but in the last year or so he’s had these periods. “It’s the footwork, he doesn’t get out of the crease. It happens early on. He got caught on the crease and pushed at it. It’s about fractions – that’s the game. He’s not quite been at his best, when you’re in great nick you make a lot of runs and he’s just not been there.”
A lot of it will now come down to mental strength for Cook, who is now 32 and has 140 test matches under his belt. Not only will the Australian players get on his back, but so too will the fans, and he needs a big response next time he is at the crease. If you check a Intertops review and look for the best odds you will see that England are big outsiders to win the series, while the hosts are odds-on favourites.
England are really up against it and they need big performances from their big players: Cook, Joe Root, James Anderson and Stuart Broad. To be fair, Root struggled too, but he has been better over the past year than Cook, who really needs to give himself a good talking to.
The emergence of Vince is hugely encouraging for England, however, as they seek to improve on the 5-0 whitewash they suffered on their last trip Down Under. He put in a sensational performance, batting with confidence, diligence and versatility to grind out an 83. It is a shame he did not get that century as it would have done his confidence the world of good, but England fans cannot be too greedy. Without him and Mark Stoneman the opening day would have been a complete disaster. Stoneman has now hit 50-plus runs in 15 of his last 32 innings and is showing far more consistency than more senior squad members.
But it is a long series, spanning five tests, and if England are to stand a chance they will need the big game players to stand up and be counted. That still includes Cook – for now. But the veteran batsman really needs to rediscover his best form quickly, or England really will be in trouble against this merciless Australian attack.
