Strauss: I'm not worried about Cook
England cricket captain Andrew Strauss has come to the defence of under pressure Alastair Cook and described the Essex man as one of the best opening partners he has ever had.
Cook is under intense pressure at the moment as the publicity continues to pile up with many sections of the media calling for him to be replaced by Michael Carberry of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Hampshire-c789.
However, Strauss has defended the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Essex-c783 player and said that he has been successful throughout his career and also pointed out that it was not too long ago that Cook nearly scored a double hundred in a Test match. This considering that Kevin Pietersen has not scored a hundred for the best part of two years.
Strauss and Cook are very productive at the top of the order for England and there are benefits of keeping them together heading into the winter. However, such is the pressure of cricket, there are a number of current players chomping at the bit to edge Cook out of the side.
Reasons to keep him
Strauss and Cook have a very successful opening partnership. They know each other inside out and in most cases they don't even have to call for a run, they know how to respond to each other based on body movements alone.
Cook can do more than one role in the team. There are very few players who can concentrate in the field for so long and then go and focus on batting. What makes this even more remarkable is that Cook is often thrown in at short-leg, which is one of the most difficult fielding positions in the game.
It's become very clear that Cook has worked very hard on his technique over the last year. People questioned him in the first place about technical problems and he has rectified this. Now he is being questioned again.
Strauss said: "Opening the batting in Test cricket can be tough at times. If you are a bit down on confidence sometimes that can be exploited more than other areas in the batting line-up. But Alastair has played some outstanding innings for England in the past and he's a very valuable member of our side."
Reasons to keep him
There are a few possible positives to dropping Cook from the side. The pressure created by England being successful in all formats of the game has led to better performances from players on the fringes of the England team. These players, like Carberry, are ready to make the move to international cricket.
Cook will be targeted by the Australians this winter if he is still in the side. There is enough time between now and the Ashes for another player to come in and make an impression before all of the Aussie sledging kicks in by the end of November.
Strauss added: "I'm not a selector and they always pick the side. But he would have my full backing [for The Oval] because I honestly think a big score is just around the corner. Sunday was a reminder that Test cricket is a tough game and you don't have everything your own way all the time – it doesn't matter how good you are, that's the case."
Betting advice
England should wrap up the Test series against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 with victory in the third match at the Oval. This is whether Cook is playing or not. There are a few players in the England team that need a big score so bet on someone making a hundred if you can. You won't get brilliant odds for this but it looks like a strong possibility.
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