Alastair Cook: a batsman with a choirboy smile and a ruthless streak | Vic Marks

England’s leading run-scorer made sure it was only the bowlers who sweated

Alastair Cook always gave the impression he was able to concentrate more easily than any of his peers. Once set he was, like most of the great batsmen, a predictable run-making machine. He did not sweat physically or metaphorically. He just got on with the job and was a wonderfully reassuring presence but his capacity to remain intensely focused yet relaxed at the crease has become elusive over the past year.

Perhaps the worst feeling for a batsman is to be playing well and not scoring. The mind starts to wander and then asks: “What happens now if I start playing badly?” This is the kind of territory Cook has been inhabiting recently.

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from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2PwK32i
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