Lloyd doesn’t want Cook to play final Test

Former player and coach David Lloyd has suggested the retiring Alastair Cook not be afforded a final Test against India this week.

Cook will retire from international competition after the fifth Test against the Indians at The Oval, amid a disappointing stretch of form.

The 160-Test veteran averages more than 44 in the longest format, but hasn’t reached more than 30 in seven innings this series.

Fellow opener Keaton Jennings, meanwhile, is also battling poor form.

“Cook has been a wonderful player for England, a rock,” Lloyd wrote on Twitter.

“He says ‘the tank is empty’. Can’t personally see why he plays at The Oval, get the new chap in immediately.”

England, however, have not selected a reserve opener. Cook and Jennings have been retained in the squad, while middle-order batsman Ollie Pope and all-rounder Chris Woakes have been recalled.

The talented Moeen Ali has opened the batting in Test cricket previously, but won’t likely be promoted again. Coach Trevor Bayliss has publicly contemplated Ali’s move to third position, though.

Surrey’s Rory Burns is among the frontrunners to succeed Cook for the Test series against Sri Lanka later this year.

England boast an unassailable three-one lead in the five-match series, after wins at Lord’s, Edgbaston and Southampton. They lost at Trent Bridge.

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