England and Wales Cricket Board managing director, Hugh Morris, has defended his decision to have different English captains for all three formats of international cricket.Alastair Cook was given the charge of the One Day International format, after Andrew Strauss announced his retirement from the version of the game.
Former English captain, Morris, said, “Andrew has typically led from the front in his role as England’s captain over the past two years.”
He added, “We understand and support his decision to step down as the one-day captain.”
Stuart Broad has been appointed as the new skipper for England’s T20 squad. He has been selected for the post in place of Paul Collingwood.
Morris said that after a lengthy debate on the matter, they were very pleased to appoint left- handed opener, Alastair Cook, as the ODI captain of the side while young fast bowler, Stuart Broad was given the role to lead in the shortest version of the game.
ECB Director, while speaking on Cook’s selection, said, “We believe Alastair has the ability and leadership attributes to successfully continue England’s progress in one-day cricket and we’re excited by what the future holds.”
Cook began his ODI cricket career in 2006, against Sri Lanka. He gained fame in a very short span of time, in both editions of cricket. In 26 ODIs, he has scored 858 at an average of 33.00. The left-hander opener has also played 65 Tests, scoring 5130 runs at an average of 47.50.
The English team is looking forward to see Cook as the new skipper for ODIs. They hope that he will lead the team with commitment and dedication.
Stuart Broad, on the other hand, is one of the finest bowlers of England. He has played 34 Tests, 76 ODIs and 44 T20 games. He played his first T20 match in 2006, against Pakistan. In his T20 career, he has taken 55 wickets at an average of 19.49.
Strauss will continue his role of leading the English side in the Test format of the game.
With England making a number of crucial decisions to give the responsibility of leading the side to young players, all is left to see whether both men take up the initiative and prove their worth, in the near future.
