The man who was coach when Alastair Cook debuted for England has no doubt the opener will overcome his struggles with the bat and on the field to enjoy fresh success as Test captain.
Duncan Fletcher was England coach as a then 21-year-old Cook was flown halfway round the world from an A tour to open the innings in his maiden Test against India in Nagpur.
He responded with a second-innings century, the first of his England record 25 Test hundreds.
However, Cook has not scored a Test ton for 24 innings, extending beyond a year, and found his technique and tactics under scrutiny as England succumbed to a 100-run defeat by Sri Lanka in the second Test to give the tourists a 1-0 win in a two-match series.
The result followed the Ashes debacle under Cook and led to more questions about his suitability as captain.
But Fletcher, now in charge of India – England’s next opponents at home in a five-Test series – compared Cook to former Australian captain Mark Taylor, who went through batting woes before re-asserting himself.
Fletcher, a former Zimbabwe captain, recalled his initial impression of Cook.
“I thought he was a very intelligent cricketer who understood the game.
“I remember talking in one of the very first team meetings he came to – he’d just been flown across from the West Indies – and we asked about someone, and he quite confidently stood up and said ‘this player does this, and this player does that’.
“There are very few players prepared to commit to something like that at such an early stage in the England squad.
“The next thing was that I think he’s a very, very determined individual … which I think most opening bats have to be.”
Fletcher urged England to stick with Cook, citing how Australia ultimately gained from doing just that when Taylor, also a left-handed opener, was struggling for runs in the early 1990s after a prolific spell.
“For however long he (Cook) has struggled, give me one player who hasn’t been through that period for that length of time.
“I remember Mark Taylor. How long did he not get a run for? Australia kept him on as captain.
“He went through a big period where he didn’t get any – and they kept him.”