From Newsgroup: uk.sport.cricket




https://indianexpress.com/article/sports/cricket/alastair-cook-brendon-mccullum-england-assistant-coach-10469370/

Alastair Cook expresses interest in joining England coaching staff: rCyYou need a variety of different peoplerCO

Alastair Cook wrote in his column for The Times that he had never
thought of going into coaching but is now thinking about it after Mike Atherton's piece for the paper.

Alastair Cook has said that he would consider joining the England Test teamrCOs coaching staff if he is given the offer, just days after former England captain Michael Atherton floated the idea of him becoming
Brendon McCullumrCOs assistant coach. The suggestion, and CookrCOs
subsequent admission, has come in the flurry of opinions that have
cropped up since the end of the 2025/26 Ashes, which England lost 4-1.

Cook wrote in his column for The Times that he had never thought of
going into coaching but is now thinking about it after AthertonrCOs piece
for the paper. rCLI canrCOt say that IrCOm not excited about the possibility of potentially getting involved, but I certainly havenrCOt had any contact from England,rCY wrote Cook in his column.

rCLUltimately if McCullum stays it has got to be up to him who he wants in
his backroom team and he has to pick who he thinks are the best coaches around. I do think, though, that in any team you need a variety of
different people and there has been too much familiarity in this set-up.

rCLI think with McCullum, the spin coach Jeetan Patel and Tim Southee, who before this series was fast-bowling coach, yourCOve got three good blokes
but three fairly similar personalities. A bit of variety would help England,rCY he further said.

While captain Ben Stokes has also copped criticism, Brendon McCullumrCOs position as EnglandrCOs Test head coach has particularly come under the scanner after the manner in which the side unravelled during the first
three Tests of the Ashes. England were hardly able to compete against Australia over the course of those games and their batters seemingly
being unable to play the long game in Test cricket was brutally exposed
by the ruthless Australian bowlers led by Mitchell Starc.

Harry Brook, the world No.2 Test batter, has prominently drawn the ire
of former cricketers for getting starts and then falling to a rash shot
more often than not. Atherton said in his column that someone like Cook
would be able to help the likes of Brook rein their instincts in.

rCLCould one of the rCLhas-beensrCY rCo as Stokes labelled former captains rCo step into a right-hand man role beside McCullum for Test matches?
Alastair Cook, if he could be persuaded, would be a perfect candidate.
Having retired from Test cricket in 2018, he is in touch with the game,
but distanced enough to have seen it from beyond the boundary. Only Joe
Root, Ben Duckett and Stokes, of the present team, played with him, but
his status is also guaranteed among those with whom he did not play,rCY Atherton wrote.

rCLIf McCullumrCOs great strength rCo and it is a great strength rCo is making his players feel ten feet tall, then Cook could help with the drive and
the disciplinerCa He is really tough. He is more opinionated than he
sometimes lets on on television, and he is stubborn and sure of his
views. He would not be afraid to challenge Key, McCullum and Stokes and
he may open the eyes and minds of those players, such as Harry Brook,
who have known only one way.rCY

Cook had previously been critical of how McCullum and Stokes treated
County cricket. Speaking on TNT Sports at Lunch on Day 1 of the Boxing
Day Test, Cook said that England under the current management have
stopped rewarding good performances in County cricket. rCLThis has been a
real reminder that the traditional values of selection in Test cricket
are still important. These guys have totally and utterly said County cricketrCOs irrelevant. ThererCOs a massive disconnect at this minute
between this England side and County cricket. I think that needs to be addressed. Because if you are banging out runs or wickets in County
cricket, there must be a path into the Test team and I think at the
minute there isnrCOt. So that needs to be looked at.rCY

Cook had been EnglandrCOs highest-ever Test run scorer till October 2024,
when Root overtook him. He retired with 12,472 runs in 161 Tests at an
average of 45.35 with 33 centuries and 57 half-centuries. Cook continued playing domestic first class cricket for five years after retiring from
Tests in 2018 and retired in 2023 with a whopping 26,643 runs in 352
matches at an average of 46.41. He scored an eye-watering 74 first class centuries and 125 half-centuries.



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