Alastair Cook attributes form return to Adelaide century
Alastair Cook has said that he has overcome his loss of form that had seen him score poorly against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Bangladesh-c747 and Pakistan in the previous couple of series. According to Cook, the century that he scored
against the South Australian side at Adelaide seems to have helped him get his rhythm back.
Cook’s record in the last six Test matches wasn’t good. Apart from a century at the Oval against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755, he had 116 runs in nine innings at an average of 13 runs per innings. Add that to the fact that the
vice-captain hasn’t had too many good times against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 and averages a measly 26 against them, it did look like Cook would struggle in the Ashes.
However, the century seems to have changed things around. Speaking to the media, Cook said, "It was great for me to spend so much time in the middle, especially that first innings for me - to get that tempo
and rhythm back into your batting,"
In the first innings, Cook had to fight hard for his 32 which set the tone for the fine century in the second innings of that game.
Cook revealed that the reason for his turnaround was the time that he spent in the middle. He added, "It's amazing how quickly that rhythm and tempo does come back to you,"
Cook also said that batting in the nets was very different from getting runs in the middle, an oft-repeated fact in cricket. He said, "It's all right in nets, for picking the ball up. But trying to find the
gaps in the middle is different, and that first innings was really important for me to find my feet. The runs look after themselves then."
England now have one warm-up game remaining and Cook and the rest of the batting side will look to make the best of the practice. The main English bowlers will not be a part of the side and the tourists will
look to give the support staff some practice.
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