India v England: portents are good as Alastair Cook just gets on with job in hand He might not be on the BBC's shortlist for Sports Personality of the Year but he stands among the most illustrious sportsmen and women of his generation. Andrew Strauss's captaincy was long, distinguished and often complicated by Kevin Pietersen. If Cook can carry this on through back-to-back Ashes series he will become a major national figure. The portents are good. He hit 766 runs in the last one.