London [UK], March 5 (ANI): Former England captain Alastair Cook raised questions over the preparation and training standards of Three Lions under current head coach Brendon McCullum across all formats, saying that he is “not sure if he would have enjoyed the relaxedness” that currently prevails in the changing room when it comes to practice.
After failing to lead England to the ICC World Test Championships in two cycles despite some promising results, McCullum’s start as a white-ball coach was not up to the mark as they lost a white-ball series to India and had a winless three-match campaign in the ongoing ICC Champions Trophy.
Speaking on the Load Of BS On Sport podcast as quoted by Wisden, Cook, the second-highest Test run-getter opened up on differences in the current era and his era in England camp. He recalled his time under Graham Gooch, who was a part of coaching set-up when Cook was playing.
“All my preparation was done leading up to it,” said Cook.
“I hit a lot of balls. I see the set-up now with Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes and it’s a lot more relaxed. I am not sure how much I would have enjoyed that relaxedness.”
“I liked – I suppose with Goochy (Graeme Gooch), hit lots of balls, and if you are in form hit even more balls because you do not want to waste that rhythm. Andy Flower was constantly improving, always working,” he added.
Cook, though he has been overtaken by Joe Root as England’s top batter in Tests, Cook is still England’s top run-getter as an opener and part of a side that won two Ashes series against Australia under his captaincy.
Following the disastrous CT 2025 campaign, Jos Buttler resigned from his post as white-ball captain. Cook is not the first one to question the team’s training methods, with former England star Kevin Pietersen and former Indian all-rounder and head coach Ravi Shastri taking a dig at the training schedule during their ODI series against India.
Pietersen criticised England for allegedly having just one training session during the ODI series, which came after a five-match T20I series. McCullum and Buttler both pushed back at criticism, pointing out a travel-heavy schedule and risk of injury ahead of ICC Champions Trophy. (ANI)
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