Worst day of captaincy I have ever seen: Shane Warne targets Alastair Cook again

Alastair Cook – the man in target

The former Australian leg-spinner Shane Warne, who called for more agression from Alastair Cook before England’s home Test series against Sri Lanka, once again took a dig at the under-fire captain – even suggesting him to take a break from cricket.

"There are three ways to go with Alastair 'Cooked' Cook. Everyone sticks their head in the sand and just allows things to keep going as it is and hope he finds form with the bat and by a miracle discovers some tactical brains from somewhere. Two: he steps down from the captaincy to concentrate on his batting. Three: the most radical of all, he has a complete break away from the game,” wrote the Australian in his column for the Daily Telegraph after England lost the series 1-0.

"Lots of people, including me, think it is time for him to step down as captain. The most disappointing thing for me is that he has not learned or improved after a horrible 5-0 drumming in Australia, in fact he has got worse. He is not thinking straight. He is not there. He is confused. He does not know what to do and because he is in a rut with his form it makes life a lot worse. You just cannot captain a team in transition in that frame of mind," the 44-year-old ‘master of spin’ wrote further.

The English captain has not scored a century since May 2013 when he hit 130 against New Zealand at Leeds. The 29-year-old left-hander averages only 25.04 in his last 24 innings inviting heavy criticism from all quarters including the former England star Geoffrey Boycott. Both his place in the team and captaincy was under scanner after Angelo Mathews batted with tail to boost Sri Lanka’s lead in the 2^nd innings.

"On Monday at Headingley I witnessed the worst day of captaincy I have ever seen at international level in almost 25 years in the game. It was horrific, and I am not the only one singing that tune," said Warne.

"He just does not get it. Everyone watching could see the game needed a change of pace; bowl the spinner or make the seamers try and actually get Angelo Mathews out. You just cannot bowl the same stuff over after over like he did - good captains try things and are proactive, not hopeful," claimed the man with 708 Test scalps to his name.

Alastair Cook seemed to be more affected by the leg-spinner’s previous remark and he even made a complaint that Warne’s assessments are getting more personal.

"This column is not a personal attack and never has been, Alastair. Mate, you need to improve tactically or England need someone else in the job. And I am not the only one saying it. Please speak to (former England captains) Michael Vaughan, Nasser Hussain and other successful captains who were tough, ruthless and got it,” Warne said in his column.

"Also, if I was an Aussie cheerleader, as the ECB thinks I am, I would not be criticising Cook. I would be saying keep him in the job because that would be the best thing for Australia during the Ashes next year. I have always been open to talking to Alastair, like I always have with any other player from any country, if they wanted a chat over a beer," Warne wrote.