England captain Alastair Cook is ready to put a difficult tour programme behind him by steering the side to victory over Sri Lanka
Alastair Cook
London: England captain Alastair Cook is ready to put a difficult tour programme behind him by steering the side to victory over Sri Lanka.
Alastair Cook
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Cook's men started the 2014 season with a rain-marred one-day international win away to Scotland in Aberdeen a fortnight ago.
But a reminder of their recent struggles against Test nation opposition came with Tuesday's narrow nine-run loss to Sri Lanka in the lone Twenty20 international at The Oval.
England return to the south London ground on Thursday for the first of a five-match one-day international series against the Sri Lankans, with Cook -- who does not play international Twenty20 -- resuming the captaincy from Eoin Morgan.
As a spectator, rather than a participant, Cook was left voicing a familiar refrain after a match where England lacked batting support for opener Alex Hales and couldn't match the 'death' bowling of Sri Lanka captain Lasith Malinga.
"At the crucial moments, we didn't quite get our skills right -- whether it was with the ball, bat or fielding," Cook said on Wednesday.
"For 85, probably 90 percent of that game, we played really well.
"Maybe (it's) the habit of not winning many games of cricket recently.
"These are games which -- when you're flying, as Sri Lanka are as (Twenty20) world champions -- you find a way of winning."
But Cook refused to read too much into the result of Tuesday's game ahead of the one-dayers.
"When you're on the end of a loss ... with a few different players coming back in ... you won't look too much into the Twenty20 game. But of course, we would like to have won it."
Now Cook is looking forward to settling into a new-look England side where Peter Moores has been recalled for a second stint as coach while "disconnected" star batsman Kevin Pietersen, in the most controversial decision following the team's 5-0 Ashes series loss in Australia, has been sent into international exile.
"I think getting going are the right words," Cook said.
"Since Australia, it's been a long time -- and we just want to get out there and play some cricket, and start whatever's going to happen, the journey of the next year or so.
"It's a bit weird. You turn up and train with half the guys, because the others are resting from Twenty20.
"Against Scotland, we put in a decent performance. But the summer starts now."
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