Alastair Cook in one-day cricket
Alastair Cook hit a hundred in England’s latest warm-up. The bowlers he had to face might not have been the world’s finest, but he hit 138 not out off 140 balls and every time he does that he’ll be getting a little bit more comfortable with one-day cricket.
There are people who say that Alastair Cook’s too stodgy a batsman for one-day cricket, but we disagree. Cook plays some stodgy Test cricket because it works for him. He’s not going to adopt the same approach for one-dayers. He’s not an idiot.
All international batsman can hit a cricket ball. It’s pretty much a minimum requirement. The difference between one batsman and the next is largely down to what they decide to do with each delivery. They’re trying to score runs and they’re trying not to get out. Alastair Cook makes these decisions well.
It’s risk assessment and Alastair Cook’s a good judge. He’ll make different decisions in one-day cricket because the needs of the team are different, but we’re confident he’ll make the right decisions.
Like us, for example. We consistently make the wrong decisions. They might be in completely different areas of our life, but it’s our decision-making that’s the problem, not the context.
We wish this mug contained tea not coffee; we wished we’d worn clothing that better matched our surroundings last time we visited Rob Key; and we wish we’d never opted for a cheese omelette that time in Karnataka.
We really, really wish that last one. If anyone’s ever had a longer 10 hour train ride than the one that followed that omelette, we’d sooner not hear about it. Two words: white froth.