'Monty was obviously the difference in their second innings'
We wanted to win the series 4-0 at the outset and thought that was achievable but after the bad weather at Lord's, 3-0 was definitely a very pleasing result. You can't argue with the scoreline. It was important to get back to winning ways and we played some really good, rewarding cricket.
Everyone in the team contributed throughout the series, which was really pleasing, but there were a few stand-out players in the final Test at Chester-Le-Street. I thought Paul Collingwood and Matthew Prior knuckled down brilliantly to take the game away from the West Indies when we were struggling on 120-6 in the first innings. They put on 150-odd and that made a huge difference to the outcome of the match.
On the bowling front, Monty Panesar and Steve Harmison were outstanding. Monty was obviously the difference in their second innings and deservedly Man of the Match but I thought Steve Harmison was back to his aggressive best, particularly for a spell after lunch on the penultimate day. If it wasn't for Shivnarine Chanderpaul, we would have won the match much more comfortably. He was deservedly the Man of the Series and his strength is he loves to accumulate runs at any cost and hates getting out. He's something like fourth in the all-time standings for the longest period of time at the crease without getting out in Tests before Monty bowled him on the final day. It was something like 15,000 minutes at the crease! Both Monty and Chanderpaul deserved their accolades as men of the series and you couldn't really argue with either decision.
"he loves to accumulate runs"
I'm really pleased with my own form in the series, with the obvious exception of Durham where I've never really scored runs! I was strangled out in the first innings and got a good ball in the second and that's cricket. Those failures teach you to savour it when you do score big runs and now I've just got to press on to score that big hundred when I'm set. Those are the hundreds that affect the course of a match.
Next up it's the one-day series and I'll hopefully be a part of that team on a more consistent basis. I was disappointed to miss out on the World Cup but it did give me a chance to re-charge for the Test series. It's flattering to hear that I've been mentioned as a future captain but it's not something I think about at the moment and I haven't read about it in any of the papers, funnily enough!
"now I’ve just got to press on to score that big hundred when I’m set"
The series should be much closer than the Test series because they're a much better ODI side. The make-up of our side will probably be quite different and we'll have a new captain after Vaughney's announcement. It's all about building for the future now but I can see this side having fun and taking a few more risks under Mooresy. After that, it's the Test series against India and I think it will provide a sterner test, with no disrespect tot the West Indies. The ratings don't lie and for them to be able to leave out world class players like Sehwag and Harbejan shows what a talented side they must have.
Join me before the India Test at Lord's for my series video preview and don't forget to ask me a question and enter the competition to win my signed Gray-Nicolls bat and gloves.
All the best,
Alastair Cook.
21st June, 2007
