Former England captain Alastair Cook has expressed doubts over whether he would have enjoyed the "relaxedness" of the England set-up under Brendon McCullum's leadership.
Speaking in a wide-ranging interview on the Load Of BS On Sport podcast, covering Cook's journey into international cricket, captaincy and retirement, the former England opener touched on the differences in England's preparation for matches now than in his era.
Cook: My preparation used to be much different
"All my preparation was done leading up to it," said Cook. "I hit a lot of balls. I see the set-up now with Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes and it's a lot more relaxed. I'm not sure how much I would have enjoyed that relaxedness.
"I liked - I suppose with Goochy (Graeme Gooch), hit lots of balls, and if you're in form hit even more balls because you don't want to waste that rhythm. Andy Flower was constantly improving, always working."
Cook was England's leading run-scorer in Tests at the end of his career but has now been overtaken by Joe Root. He is, however, still England's leading run-scorer as an opener, and the side won two Ashes series under his captaincy.
Cook not the first expert to question England's training
His remarks on England's training and preparation for international matches comes after their disastrous Champions Trophy campaign. They didn't win a single game in the group stage for the tournament, with captain Jos Buttler resigning ahead of their final match against South Africa.
Before the series, the side came under criticism when Kevin Pietersen and Ravi Shastri attacked their training schedule during their ODI series in India.
Pietersen picked up on England only having one training session during the ODI series, which followed a five-match T20I series. Both Buttler and McCullum pushed back at the criticism, citing the travel-heavy schedule for the series and the significant injury concerns in the squad ahead of the Champions Trophy.
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