If Alastair Cook no longer wants England captaincy, we need a clean break

Outside Edge: Cook's successor, most likely Joe Root, could use the summer to get to grips with his new responsibilities

Root, right, is favourite to replace Cook as England captain (AP)

Well, what a treat: dominant England running India ragged. It is not something seen much on this difficult tour, although in truth there have been more bright points than many seem to believe. Putting India’s superior spin attack to one side, the real difference between the teams has been Virat Kohli, whose batting has simply been on a different plane.

Throughout the series, England have struggled to push on from promising positions, so it remains eminently possible that the positive start in Chennai will be squandered. Time will tell. But whatever the result of this test it is abundantly obvious that questions about Alastair Cook’s captaincy will continue until such time as he is reappointed and begins winning again. Whether that happens may largely depend on whether he wants to carry on.

It is hard to conclude that Cook’s captaincy is to blame for English woes this winter. And his body language has remained broadly positive, which is impressive in light of results. Even so, after fifty-nine tests in charge, he could be excused for thinking perhaps he has done his bit. When he told The Cricketer magazine in October that he looked forward to the days when he would stand at slip, offering words of advice to whoever has taken over from him as skipper, the words seemed accompanied by both wistfulness and future hope. It appeared to be a tired man talking.

One problem for ECB top-brass is that there are few obvious candidates to succeed Cook. The days when England could field several captains in a series are not ones that anybody wants to return to – but they were possible in part because there were so many experienced leaders either in the first choice XI or on the cusp of it. That is no longer so.

Joe Root is of course the overwhelming favourite to take over should Cook – or the ECB – decide that a change is required. And sure enough, Root seems to have the necessary mix of phlegm and grit to make a go of test leadership. The down side is that Root is already heavily burdened by being a key member of the England side in all forms of the game, as well as the team’s best batsman, even if his ideal spot in the batting order needs more thought.

Of the other possible contenders, Stuart Broad would be a stop-gap; and Jos Buttler isn’t sure of his place in the team. The captaincy would, he might think, be one way to nail that down. All in all it is easy to see why the ECB might want Cook to stick around. Yet from a longer-term perspective, there are grounds for making a clean break now: that way, Root (as it must surely be) will have the summer to get to grips with a new level of responsibility under Cook’s watchful eye, before embarking on a trip down under later in the year. Better that, perhaps, than for England to start an Ashes trip next winter with the matter unresolved.

England's women go from strength to strength

Knight has hit the ground running with England's women (Getty)

A change of captaincy has worked wonders for England’s women, with Heather Knight having led her talented side – shorn of Charlotte Edwards’ experience and Sarah Taylor’s proven class – to three series victories in a row since taking over in the spring. Thrashings of Pakistan at home and Sri Lanka away sandwiched a particularly impressive, and hard-fought, victory over the West Indies in the Caribbean. By shaking the status quo, England have come back much stronger after the disappointment of the World T20 tournament in March.

Next summer will be an important one for the women’s game in this country, with the ECB having decided to focus on securing the success of the T20 Super League after last year’s inaugural edition, rather than introducing an additional 50-over franchise competition to run alongside it. That makes sense, not least because the World Cup will also be coming to town next year. By concentrating resources, these two key events – one domestic and one international – can be given even greater prominence.

Having spent the seven years since her birth gently persuading my daughter of cricket’s wondrous merits – and of its non-gender-specificity – the World Cup comes at an opportune moments. Tickets for the final at Lord’s in July have been secured; excitement in the Gore household is already building; now we just need Knight and her merry band to ensure that it’s England who are crowned champions.