Would be a shame if Cook steps down: Paul Farbrace

In spite of the flak Alastair Cook has been receiving in recent weeks, it is quite clear that they certainly want him to stay. In recent days, the likes of Michael Vaughan, have called for the resignation of the England skipper something that has certainly been unsettling, to say the least. However, Paul Farbrace, the batting and assistant coach of the England team has stated that it would be a shame to see Cook step down from the captaincy role.

“If he chooses to step down, that would be a shame because we want him to carry on,” said Farbrace. “When you lose a series 4-0, of course, people will talk about the leadership. We all know that. We would all, at the end of this series, be having a think about what we can do better, what we have learned from this series, and what we need to do to make this team win.

Farbrace went on to add that it was also very clear who was in charge in the dressing room. “But there’s nobody looking around the dressing room thinking ‘ooh, I wonder who’s in charge?’. It’s very clear who’s in charge, and that hasn’t changed.”

He also went on to add that there was time to regroup when it came to playing in the Test matches. “When Straussy and Cookie sit down and have that chat, if it’s decided that Cookie isn’t the man to lead the team going forward, then there is still plenty of time for the first series in the summer,” he said.

It was later confirmed that Cook did indeed have the support of the team and still a popular captain. “(But) we know he still has the support of the team, and he’s a very popular bloke and very popular captain. We knew this was going to be a tough series. There’s nothing in this series that suggests he’s lost his way as a captain or doesn’t still have the support of the team.

“We’ve planned, and have been planning, for Cookie to be captain going to the Ashes in Australia next winter,” said Farbrace.

Farbrace said: “Again that sums up our series really – one fantastic session, when (Cook and Keaton Jennings) played really well, and then we’ve lost wickets throughout the rest of the day.

“We’ve played some very good cricket in spells – what we haven’t been able to do is string together days and complete Test matches, other than the first Test.

“You get what you deserve if you can’t compete and string together high-quality days of Test cricket – we got what we deserved in the end.”