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Alastair Cook
admitted his surprise that he is in charge of an England side who find
themselves officially top of the ICC one-day rankings. The surprise
might be shortlived. If South Africa beat England in the first of five
ODIs in Cardiff on Saturday, they will overhaul them.
At least England's reign as the No. 1 Test side lasted a year; their
achievement in the one-day game might only last a day. When the usual
crop of dignitaries present them with the Reliance ODI Shield, Cook
would be well advised to accept the award with the most modest
expression he can muster.
"I don't think we feel like No. 1," he said. "It was something we were
aiming for a bit later on. We've got such a long way to go."
If South Africa, who trail England by one-sixth of a rating point, win
in Cardiff they will become the first country to hold the No. 1 rankings
spot in all formats of the game, having deposed England as the
top-ranked Test team at Lord's on Monday. To retain that position, they
would have to win the series by at least 3-2.
For England's one-day side to be seeking to improve on poor displays in
the Test format is an uncommon feeling. Until this year, the assumption
had been that England's Test side was the stronger, winning back-to-back
Ashes series while the 50-overs side was a poor relation, looking as
far as ever from winning a major one-day tournament for the first time.
Perceptions are changing. This series will go a long way towards showing
whether the shift is more than a temporary aberration.
Two replacement captains help to bring some significance to the series. AB de Villiers
assumes command of South Africa, leaving Graeme Smith to spend time,
between batting, with his wife and a new baby girl, Cadence, whose birth
he returned to see in between the first and the second Tests. Smith
spent so long grimacing and growling at England's attack in the Test
series that if he briefly forgets himself the new arrival in the Smith
family could get a bit of a shock.
New captains and fresh faces have their advantages. The threat to
continuity caused by a change of personnel can be offset by a renewed
sense of zest. A change is as good as a rest and, in international
cricket, change is the best option there is because there is little
chance for rest. "This is why three captains seems to work quite well,"
Cook said. "Certainly I'm ready to go again with the challenge of
leadership. When Broady steps in for the Twenty20s, he'll really want to
drive the team on."
In normal circumstances, it would be Stuart Broad's Twenty20 leadership
that would be observed most closely over the coming weeks. The World
Twenty20 is less than a month away and three t20 matches against South
Africa therefore hold more importance than usual for both sides, even
allowing for the very different conditions that will face them in Sri
Lanka.
But these are not normal circumstances. Cook is regarded as heir
apparent to Andrew Strauss as Test captain, although Michael Atherton,
the former England captain, deservedly praised the leadership qualities
of Matt Prior in The Times on Thursday, not just because of his
fighting on-field qualities but because he was the one person brave
enough to ring up Kevin Pietersen - without permission as it happened -
and try to bring some sense to a stand-off that has demeaned all who are
involved in it.
"After 18 months I feel more comfortable in the role, happier making
decisions in the field and in selections with Andy Flower," Cook said.
He has eased himself into captaincy gradually, not as much groomed for
the job as receiving a manicure, full facial and Ayurvedic massage;
pretty much everything, in fact, apart from colonic irrigation.
Naturally, he was asked about Pietersen's part in England's future and
twice claimed the matter was "above my head." It did not smack of
leadership, but it a dangerous topic to show leadership on.
There is no doubt that Smith runs South African cricket; de Villiers is a
well-mannered understudy who knows the extent of his power and who has
Smith in the background for advice should he need him. There is still
not much doubt that Strauss runs England cricket. But despite the
emphatic support he has received from his coach Andy Flower, who does
not regard the matter as up for discussion, it is a dangerous time in a
captain's career when he reaches an age where he is most often praised
for presentational skills rather than the runs he gets or the fields he
sets.
Depict Strauss as a successful England captain and he needs to be
depicted as an influential performer in whites, not prized as a man
offering calming and intelligent off-the-field guidance, however
invaluable that might be. There again, ECB officials are open to so
little public scrutiny these days that somebody has to be the public
face of English cricket.
Ravi Bopara returns for England after a tough personal time and the
presence of Cook, an Essex team-mate, as captain, will help him settle
back into the job. That his mind will be attuned to the task should not
be assumed to be automatic. A planned return for England Lions against
Australia A was aborted, a run-out for Essex against Netherlands in the
CB40 brought a score of 1 and his guest appearance for Gloucestershire brought three wickets but little reward with the bat.
South Africa have a different feel to the side that capitulated in the
one-day series in England in 2008. Instead of familiar faces from the
Test campaign, they have more new faces, some of whom have got into trim
in a short tour of Ireland.
De Villiers suggested that England might be a specialist batsman light.
"It's something we'll be attacking," he said. "They may be conservative
up front because they are a batter light, they don't have the wicket
keeper at No.7 like most teams. But I can't see them carrying a lot of
scars from the Test series, maybe just a tiny little mental factor, but
if we don't start well that would soon be lost."
David Hopps is the UK editor of ESPNcricinfo
Feeds: David Hopps
© ESPN EMEA Ltd.
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