Alastair Cook hits out at England’s “zero sense” preparation before South Africa defeat
Former England captain Sir Alastair Cook has taken aim at the current schedule after Ben Stokes ‘ side were thrashed by South Africa in the first Test at Lord’s.
England came into the match having played solely white-ball cricket in August, with the last round of County Championship matches ending in July before the start of The Hundred and the One-Day Cup.
South Africa, meanwhile, prepared for the series with a four-day warm-up match against a strong England Lions side which, although they lost by an innings and 56 runs, helped them get up to speed after not playing a Test match in four months.
And Cook has questioned why no first-class cricket was played in the lead up to a Test series, saying it “makes zero sense” and “has to change”. Speaking on BBC Test Match Special, Cook said: “What is weird is we normally talk about the touring side running into a series with not enough match practice.
“We always say it’s such an advantage in the first game England normally have in Test series.
We’re talking about the structure of the game so much, we’re talking about when should cricket be played… it makes zero sense that there is no first-class cricket going on for anyone to play when there’s a Test match series going on.
“That has to change. There is no excuse for it. That has to change.”
Stokes, meanwhile, said he did not want to use the lack of first-class cricket as an “excuse” but admitted it would be good if they could “put a first-class game in there for the lads to go off and just get out there in the field”
“I don’t think I want to use that situation as an excuse whatsoever,” he said. “We’ve all played a lot of cricket. There could be an opportunity maybe to put a first-class game in there for the lads to go off and just get out there in the field.”
