Cook removed as ODI Captain, Morgan to lead England at the World Cup

Like the guy, but he refused to jump before he was pushed and you cant justify his record

Fire Cook as skipper for poor numbers... fair enough. But you can't tell me it doesn't become farcical when you replace him with literally the only player in your established top six with poorer numbers.

Credit where it's due: the correct decision.

But, yet again horribly managed by England. Someone should be out of a job soon.

Well, that's the end of one soap opera. Had to be done, but what a shambles this has all been. Agree with Raf as well to be honest, Morgan getting the captaincy has been accepted simply because all the vitriol has been directed at Cook. His averages in the last 3 ODI series are 13, 21 and 18. He did well last winter in Australia though, so here is hoping he can get back to that.

I could see them going: Hales, Bell, Taylor, Root, Morgan, Ali, Buttler, Woakes, Broad, Jordan, Anderson.

Thank heavens for this. Does not solve all of our problems but is one step that was needed.

Morgan is horrendously out of form but has the Big Bash and Tri Series to try and get it back. Morgan does have the game to be effective in ODIs, Cook simply didn't

JDizzle,

I think (please) Ali should replace Bell in your team at 2, with Bopara in at 6 and Bell out of the frame.

Maybe the dropping of Cook - surely even Downton can't advocate him staying on as opener(??!) - will open the way to another genuine one day batsman, probably Ballance but possibly - through personal bias, I admit - Roy. Personally I like the look of:
Hales, Roy, Taylor, Root, Ali, Bopara, Buttler, Broad, Anderson + 2 bowlers who can hold a bat and more (eg Jordan, Stokes, Tredwell)

So how do you explain him having a higher average than David Warner? How do you explain him having had a strike rate of 90+ for two years? How do you explain him having made the ICC Odi team of the year 2012?

Sorry, but the Cook criticism at times borders on ridiculous. It's as if one, admittedly long run of bad means 2009-2013 simply never happened. Cook's best as an ODI batter > any other England batters... and that includes KP.

Agreed on Morgan. Nothing more than a temporary measure with Root lined up in the near future I suspect.

On Cook, I really feel for the guy, but the rut went on too long. The guy needs some time away from cricket to get his head back and clear his thoughts. He was never going to jump, so he had to be pushed unfortunately. It might turn out to be best for all concerned

This story has been doing the rounds for a few hours now but still nothing confirmed, clarified or denied by the ECB. What were we saying on the other threads (going back to at least Pietersen's sacking) about Downton and communication?

JDizzle wrote:Well, that's the end of one soap opera. Had to be done, but what a shambles this has all been. Agree with Raf as well to be honest, Morgan getting the captaincy has been accepted simply because all the vitriol has been directed at Cook. His averages in the last 3 ODI series are 13, 21 and 18. He did well last winter in Australia though, so here is hoping he can get back to that.

I could see them going: Hales, Bell, Taylor, Root, Morgan, Ali, Buttler, Woakes, Broad, Jordan, Anderson.

I like the look of this team. I think Bell has been unfairly maligned- since the start of 2012 he's averaged 45 at a strike rate of 82 opening the batting.

Well, if having made the ICC Odi team of the year just two years ago us seen as adequate evidence of the fact that you could never play ODIs (Cook), What chance does Bell have?

Well to be honest I have been expecting this for the last few days . Like raf , I think a lot of the Cook criticism has been overdone - bordering on the hysterical in some quarters - but it has been clear during the Sri Lanka series that his struggles to assert himself as an effective opener in the format under the latest rules have had an adverse effect on his concentration and morale.
I am not certain that replacing him as opener with an unproven player will actually improve England's batting order ; but I think the chances of Cook getting it right on the night had become vanishingly slim , so any alternative at least represents a chance of a gain.

Perhaps more importantly , it lets Cook , who from his comments recently was both practically resigned to being replaced and almost certainly relieved as well ( though he would never admit that in advance ) go away and take a break before concentrating on his strong suit , the long game. England need a mentally fit Cook in Tests far more than a struggling ODI battler...
By the way I am not critical of Cook for not stepping down of his own volition. Some players might have done so , in his position , but he isn't the type to walk away from a job he has been given - he has clearly always seen that decision as one for the selectors , and was going to fight it out until they made their choice. Not saying either choice is right or wrong ; depends on the individual . But I wouldn't call him selfish any more than I would have have called him weak if he had chosen to resign. Just a point.
So on to the future : a pity Morgan is in worse form than Cook at present However the hope is that Morgans troubles are of a different nature and will fade away a bit as he takes on the responsibility of leadership. I hope so too...am not that bothered about who wears the armband to be honest , as long as the best lineup currently possible takes the field . At least they now have a few games to trial Hales before the cup : as a Hales fan I've been disappointed by his efforts so far in fifty over games , but I hope (there's that word again !) he can get it right now...

At least well be spared endless "Cook must go" threads all over the Internet now . Though we will probably see "bring back Pietersen" petitions instead - I see KP has already tweeted his hopes of a recall under Morgan
Doubt that one.

Right call on Cook....... Won't make the 1st favorite to lift the WC, but at least there is some intent at last.
Mr. Paul Downton, he of the big foolish mouth, makes himself party to yet another right royal mess though.......

Cooks masters are ungrateful.....dumped him inspite of his loyalties in siding blindly with the masters in KP-gate.....
Compared to.....Dhoni's master who has backed him inspite of his disastrous shows in tests

and as an aside what does this make Downton of "Inspirational Leader" fame look like ?
a Rubber Stamp whose voice means little

SimonofSurrey wrote:JDizzle,

I think (please) Ali should replace Bell in your team at 2, with Bopara in at 6 and Bell out of the frame.

Maybe the dropping of Cook - surely even Downton can't advocate him staying on as opener(??!) - will open the way to another genuine one day batsman, probably Ballance but possibly - through personal bias, I admit - Roy.  Personally I like the look of:
Hales, Roy, Taylor, Root, Ali, Bopara, Buttler, Broad, Anderson + 2 bowlers who can hold a bat and more (eg Jordan, Stokes, Tredwell)  

I share some concerns with others that Ali might struggle on the bouncier pitches of Australia against the new balls. He definitely will open in the tri series, and we will go from there. Hopefully he'll go well, because he is a breath of fresh air. Bell, for some reason, has never quite clicked in ODI cricket but with an inexperienced top 3 with him (and hopefully Hales and Taylor), I think he will add some solidarity.

I will admit it's strange that Downton can seemingly road block the selection of a player, but have no say in captaincy matters. What exactly is his job?

Im glad a decision has been made, however i personally wouldn't have made Morgan captain..

My issue with Cook is he doesn't score enough singles to rotate the strike. It means he has to score 3 boundaries every 2 overs just to be up with the run a ball, and if he's there to bat through he can't just be slogging at anything the way Hales or Ali can. This puts a lot of pressure on the guy at the other end to score the boundaries if the bowling is tight to Cook, as the dots build up.

Having a more natural one day player at the top of the order may help. Someone like Bell may do the job well or we may have to look at someone fresh. But someone who will just look to take the singles when they are on offer and bring the hitter back onto strike without getting bogged down.

I guess when Cook's on form and hitting boundaries the fielders will be on the edge of the circle and the singles could come easier. But everyone comes up on the one and everything's straight and full and he struggles to get the ball away.

Right decision to remove him in my opinion. Let him get his game right and come back into form for tests.

Not sure if Morgan I'd the right pick, but I guess he's our only option at 5. He and Root are the players we rely on to rebuild an innings if we lose 2 or 3 early, but also go at 8-10 an over late on if they get a platform, and I can't think of anyone more suited to that role (well, other than KP) in and around the England set up, although my knowledge of county cricket is limited. So I guess we have to stick with him and hope the captaincy lifts his game.