London: With the series won 3-1, that too convincingly, England captain Alastair Cook paid rich tribute to his wife Alice for persuading him to stay on as the skipper during the tough times against Sri Lanka and India.
After the loss to Sri Lanka in the Headingly Test, ahead of the India series, Cook was contemplating whether or not he was the right man to lead the side. The loss against India in the Lord's Test also prompted his detractors for his sacking.
But Cook bounced back in style as he found his form with the bat and also led England to three consecutive massive wins to seal the series against India here at The Oval, Sunday. He promptly credit his wife for the success.
"I stayed on because of support I had from my wife," said Cook after the win. Recalling the losses to Sri Lanka and India, Cook said he was glad that he stuck through tough times.
"You can bear your soul quite often to Alice and she's very good at getting me back on the straight and narrow. That was a tough night when we had a winning position on the fourth day against Sri Lanka and it slipped. Lord's was very tough too when we lost in conditions suited to us, and we won the toss.
“But I'm quite stubborn. I'm a resilient guy who believes in his abilities and that's when I needed to the most. I'm glad I stuck through the tough times," he said. Cook said he doesn't need to prove to his critics, but he plays to do best every time he plays for England.
“I don't play this game to prove people right or wrong, I never have. I play it to try to win games for England and do my best at all times.
“I'm not sitting here gloating or anything like that. That's not who I am. I'm here because I'm passionate about English cricket and believe I'm the right man to lead English cricket forward alongside Peter Moores,” he said.
Cook said it was a privilege for him to lead the team. "I'm very privileged to be England captain. It's a great job even through the tough times. You do it for such a short period that you have to hold on to it for as long as you can, and give everything," he said.
