“I would like to have seen him do one more Ashes”

Image courtesy of: Zimbio

Former England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff has revealed that he feels Alastair Cook should have stayed on as the country’s Test captain.

Cook stepped down as captain earlier this month, but Flintoff believes the 32-year-old made the wrong choice.

He also pointed out that Cook was being unfairly criticised by the media and other ex-England skippers.

“I was a bit disappointed that Alastair finished,” Flintoff, who captained England in the past, told Express Sport. “He played under me and I’ve seen his career go through.

“I didn’t like the criticism he was getting towards the end from media, ex-captains, ex-players and the public. I didn’t think he deserved that.

“But unfortunately when you finish a job like England captain, you very rarely get to finish it on good terms. I would like to have seen him do one more Ashes but it was his decision and you have to respect that.”

With Joe Root having taken over, Flintoff is backing Cook to make plenty more runs as the opener now has the luxury of concentrating solely on his batting.

Furthermore, with an Ashes tour of Australia scheduled at the end of the year, Cook will no doubt be looking to find his feet this summer, during which England will take on South Africa and the West Indies.

“Hopefully now [Alastair] will carry on his career and score thousands and thousands more runs,” Flintoff said. “I don’t know Joe Root that well but he did seem like the obvious choice.

“There was nobody else you could really look at. I think he’ll do great. He’s a fine player and the way in which he plays his cricket means he’s a joy to watch so hopefully he’ll be successful.”