Who else could have been England ODI captain?

Cook or KP - Image Courtesy (guardian.co.uk)

There has been much discussion since the introduction of Alistair Cook as England ODI captain earlier this summer with regards to whether he is the right man for the job.

The Essex man has come from being out of the side completely, to the most important man in on the field. Is this too dramatic a jump for someone who has yet to prove himself as a consistent ODI performer?

There are many that think it is. Earlier today he was out cheaply against Sri Lanka in his first game (England won convincingly but that is more to do with bowlers and conditions more tough test will come soon) and although this shouldn’t be all he is judged upon, he could certainly have done with a few more runs.

The main argument for the sports betting pundits in the ‘Cook shouldn’t be captain’ camp appear to be that he shouldn’t be in the side automatically because he isn’t in England’s best eleven on his batting alone.

Mark Butcher was speaking on TMS earlier today asking the question about whether, if you picked the best England team for 50-over cricket without thinking about who is captain, would Cook make it?

Aside from the captaincy issue, there is no problem at all that England want to give Cook a go in the shorter form of the game. He is a good replacement for the retired Andrew Strauss at the top of the order and his form in the test arena has been so incredible he is hard to ignore.

The issue really is with the captaincy. Should he be looked at as a leader by more experienced and proven ODI players like Kevin Pietersen, James Anderson, Graeme Swann and Eoin Morgan? Does he earn the respect in this form?

Perhaps the best way to judge the decision to make him skipper is to see who else England could have chosen. Let’s go through the team that was named to face Sri Lanka earlier today and rate their prospects as a captain.

AN Cook – Chosen as captain.

C Kieswetter – Not an option.

IJL Trott – Not a natural captain, although should be in side enough.

KP Pietersen – They turned to KP before, it didn’t work out. Would they risk it again?

EJG Morgan – Twenty20 vice-captain and Butcher’s preference to lead this team.

IR Bell – By no means assured a place in the side.

TT Bresnan – Injury prone, should focus on continuing to progress as an all-rounder.

SCJ Broad – Twenty20 captain, would be too much to take on the England ODI side too.

GP Swann – England’s best bowler, never going to be a captain.

JW Dernbach – Not an option

JM Anderson – Must have been considered, but not always a certainty for ODI side.

The point being made is that there weren’t any nailed on candidates for the role. England wanted Cook at the top of the order, made that decision, then looked at the captaincy.

With the options available, any decision they made might have been cruised. Cook is the future captain of the test side, so why not give him a go in this role?

Many sports bets being placed on the England v Sri Lanaka ODI series are going on a win for the tourists, but if Cook can get his team playing well and competing, it might keep a few of the doubters quiet.