England coach Andy Flower has described Alastair Cook as a “natural leader” and claims he will be the right man to captain the side on the upcoming tour of Bangladesh (England 1/5, Bangladesh 10/1 Drawn Series 5/1 Outright Test Series Betting).

Regular captain Andrew Strauss was not included in the 16-man Test squad, and 15 for the one-day internationals (England 1/4, Bangladesh 5/2
ODI Series Outright Betting), as he will be handed a much-needed rest after a hectic schedule.

And the elevation of 25-year-old opener Cook to become the new captain was one of the main talking points ahead of the tour.

However Flower insists Cook is the right man to stand in for Strauss, having known him for several years through their associations with Essex.

“Alastair is a tough young man – I think you’ve seen that in the way he’s batted and handled himself from the moment he joined the England team,” he said.

“He’s done a superb job with the bat in his hand – and you can see some of the qualities like resilience, toughness, determination and also his love of the game that shine through when he bats.

“He will use those qualities in his captaincy.

“In my judgment, he is a natural leader.

“I experienced snippets of that at Essex, and in the dressing room he is a strong character and makes good contributions.”

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