The dressing room seems to be in a good place: Alastair Cook

Prior to the start of the final Test of the ENG v PAK series, Alastair Cook addressed the questions regarding the road ahead for England in terms of overseas tours. Cook reiterated the importance of both Trevor Bayliss and Andrew Strauss in the side stating that the trio sits down at the end of every series and discuss on how to move forward. Cook also went on to reveal that discussions about his captaincy also take place in the same meeting.

“At the end of every series, I’ll sit down with Trevor Bayliss and Andrew Strauss and discuss the future of the side and where we want to go,” Cook said. “We’ll discuss whether I am still the right captain for this team or if it is time to move on after this series or after India. We always now talk about that for my sanity as well. At the moment I’m enjoying it. The dressing room seems to be in a good place. It’s the most comfortable I’ve felt captaining a side.

Speaking about the time that he has been skipper, Cook said, “The last year or so I’ve really felt comfortable in the captaincy role and everything it brings with it on and off the field. I am really enjoying it and all those hard moments I’ve had – obviously, they do not go – but in one sense, it would seem wrong to give it up quite yet.”

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Finally, Alastair Cook spoke about the upcoming schedule, especially the upcoming five-match Test series in India that will stretch up to three months. The 31-year old skipper also went on to add the importance of the younger unit that is in place at the moment.

“We’ve some tough challenges ahead,” Cook said. “We have these five days and then seven straight Tests in the sub-continent – 11 weeks away – so I think we’re going to need some strong leadership. It’s going to be a really tough tour for a lot of people. We’ve got to be on it as a group.”

“It would be a great achievement and one you can be very proud of when you finish playing cricket,” he said. “But, as I keep saying, there’s still questions that need to be answered. We’re not at the level we were in 2012. Then everyone had played 30 or 40 Test matches at the very least.

“This is a more talented team. There are people who can turn a game in a session. The team in 2011-12 was a very consistent, hard-nosed team that was very hard to beat. We’ve got a way to go to that level, but as you saw with some of the brilliance of Ben Stokes, getting a hundred in a session – that kind of stuff is what’s very exciting about this team.”

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PTV Sports, a prominent Pakistani channel made an attempt to analyze the match on national Television following the end of the day’s proceedings. Footage of England players rubbing the ball on their trousers or with their hands as well as the usage of saliva can also be seen in the same footage. They raised a question of ball tampering by the England players as most of the world watched in awe.

“It’s a load of rubbish,” Cook replied when asked about the allegations. “Someone showed me the clip on Twitter of Rooty shining the ball. It’s just shining the ball, isn’t it?

“Let’s be honest. It’s shining the shiny side of the ball on his trousers. It’s an absolute load of rubbish as far as I’m concerned. It’s so far-fetched that it’s just nonsense. I don’t think it will affect anyone, it certainly hasn’t affected our changing room.”