Deposed captain Cook gutted by England ODI axe

England officials from coach Peter Moores to managing director Paul Downton had publicly backed their skipper throughout a testing 2014, which included this month's 5-2 series defeat in Sri Lanka.

But in private the ECB's powerbrokers harboured the same reservations as a litany of distinguished commentators, led by Cook's predecessors Nasser Hussain and Michael Vaughan.

A personal return of 119 runs in six innings in Sri Lanka proved the final straw, with the left-hander appearing crease-bound, tentative and out of step with the modern 50-over game.

After a selection meeting lasting several hours on Friday, followed by a personal meeting at Cook's home, the curtain formally came down on the skipper's tenure yesterday morning. He will now be no more than a frustrated spectator as England head Down Under for January's Tri-Series against Australia and India before the World Cup begins on February 14.

Cook's response was, like too many of his recent innings, brief. "I am gutted to be left out of the World Cup squad, and it is likely to take me a while to get over the disappointment," he said.

Downton, who does not have an active role in selection but sat in on the meeting, shed further light on Cook's state of mind.

The Essex man will remain Test captain and hopes are high that the likely end of his limited-overs career will see a return to his formidable best in the longer form, but Downton's words made it clear the wounds run deep.

"He had a dream to lead England at the World Cup and it's been taken away from him a month away from its fulfilment," Downton said. "He still believes he's the right man for the job, but the selectors had to make a decision in the best interests of English cricket.

"He's very raw, but hopefully in time he will reflect that he wasn't scoring runs, he was putting himself under an awful lot of pressure and that he will now free up his mind to focus on Test cricket."

James Whitaker, who acts as national selector alongside Moores, Angus Fraser and Mick Newell, explained the panel's verdict. He said: "Everything went into the discussion and we gave it our full attention for a number of hours. It was a long meeting. It was felt unanimously that we had to change because Alastair was no longer in the sort of form he is capable of. He wasn't in our best 15."

Morgan was not the only name considered as Cook's replacement, and his form has been in a trough as well, but the Dubliner is seen as the most savvy one-day thinker in the England set-up.

"We discussed a couple of different people," Whitaker said. "Eoin has had captaincy experience and when he has captained England it's generally brought the best out of him. We hope he sets a course in one-day cricket that will be very positive. His form was talked about, but we felt he could be stimulated by this. We feel he's the right man to take us forward."

Cook's axing shunted the rest of the squad announcement well down the agenda, but the decision to cut all-rounder Ben Stokes is significant. Seen as the rising star of English cricket after last winter's Ashes, his game has deteriorated and he has now fallen behind Chris Jordan and Chris Woakes in the pecking order.

Yorkshire's Gary Ballance is the chief beneficiary of Cook's exit, drafted into the group to challenge for a middle-order spot.

Meanwhile, Jonathan Trott will resume his international career by captaining the England Lions four-day team on the tour of South Africa next month.

England one-day squad for the tri-series against Australia and India and the ICC Cricket World Cup: E Morgan (capt), M Ali, J Anderson, G Ballance, I Bell, R Bopara, S Broad, J Buttler, S Finn, A Hales, C Jordan, J Root, J Taylor, J Tredwell, C Woakes.