Will 'take a while to get used to' not being England captain: Cook

Melbourne [Australia], April. 4 (ANI): Former England skipper Alastair Cook has admitted that it will take him a while to get used to not being a captain and having a smaller say in the direction of the team. Cook had earlier this year stepped down as England's Test captain after a record 59 matches in charge. Following his tour to the subcontinent, which included a maiden Test defeat against Bangladesh and culminated with a 0-4 loss in the five-Test series against India, the left-handed had faced a lot of criticism. And middle-order batsman Joe Root was then appointed as England's new Test captain, with Ben Stokes being named as his deputy. "It has good days and bad days," cricket.com.au quoted Cook as saying of stepping down. "It's such a big thing to give away." "I won't miss going into all the extra press conferences. But being at the centre of it, being involved in a lot of decision-making was the excitement of the job. Not doing that any more, will probably take a while to get used to," he added. The left-handed opener further insisted that despite him knowing that it was the right decision for him and the team to step down, it won't be easy. "It has been time to move on as a person and a player," he said. He is currently England's most prolific Test batsman with 11,057 runs in 140 matches till date, and Warne believes he could surpass some of the best batsmen to ever play the game. Cook, who was appointed as the captain in August 2012, is England's most capped Test skipper so far, having led the side to Ashes victories at home in 2013 and 2015 as well as series wins in India and South Africa. The opening batsman also led the one-day side for 69 matches between 2010 and 2014, which is another England record. The 32-year-old, who is just 118 runs away from going past Allan Border's mark of 11,174 runs, will however have to wait a while longer though, with England's Test season not beginning until July due to the Champions Trophy being held in the UK in June. Root will kick-off his reign as skipper with four Tests against South Africa and then three against the West Indies. However, the former England skipper believes the transition from the old guard to the new will not be an issue. "Hopefully it'll be absolutely fine. Hopefully I can support Joe whichever way he'd like me to support him," he said. "I feel like I can get back in the troops and get on with it, and hopefully score some runs and help England win cricket games which ultimately is what everyone wants to see," he added. (ANI)