Swann reveals stuttering start to Cook captaincy

ENGLAND spinner Graeme Swann has praised the leadership skills of Alastair Cook but admits the one-day captain struggles to give team talks.

Cook took over as 50-over skipper last year. In his autobiography The Breaks Are Off, Swann said: “Alastair phoned me to ask whether I thought he should take on the England one-day captaincy. I told him, yes, of course. I thought he was more than good enough to re-invent himself as a one-day batsman and it would make him a shoo-in for the Test captaincy when Andrew Strauss takes a seat in the House of Lords.

“He was nervous for his maiden series as official captain against Sri Lanka but his leadership was outstanding – apart from team talks. He stumbles and stammers a lot and is renowned for starting one sentence and jumping into another before he has finished. I stare at the floor in a bid not to laugh.”