Anyone who watches X Factor knows the format. Young hopeful stares blankly into the camera while a pantomime-villain in a suit reminds them they are hopelessly out of their depth.  For Alastair Cook, while the accusation was purely implicit, his villain was a Sky reporter, and there were no teenage girls watching at home to vote in and save him, just disgruntled fans of English cricket, bewildered at how a schoolboy could be leading their country.

Cook’s face has always fitted. He has the hair. He has the background. He has the talent. He has been an ‘FEC’ since his debut. He has nine Test hundreds at the age of 24. He is England vice-captain. Yet none of these mean a thing when the cameras are on you and you’ve just been thrashed.

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