text: The performance of Jimmy Anderson on the last morning of the second Test was one of the greatest I have seen from an England cricketer. He did everything right as a bowler, catcher and fielder. It was Botham-esque. England must be doing something right behind the scenes if one of their players can produce something like that almost out of nothing. Sessions that win matches do not happen purely by chance. When something like that happens it’s very hard to adhere to the old mantra of not getting too up when things go well and not too low when they go badly. England captain Alastair Cook celebrates as he scores the runs to defeat West Indies in the second Test . Cook (left) dives to his left to take a catch at first slip and claim the wicket of Chanderpaul . England must remember that, having won a crucial toss, they had the best conditions against the eighth-ranked side in the world. But this was a win to savour. Anderson may have won it with his extraordinary display but the key to me in England going one-up was the captaincy and batting of Alastair Cook. There were times during the Ashes when it was very clear who was leading Australia on the field but not so obvious who was in charge of England. Arms were being waved everywhere and, if you did not know Cook was the England captain, you would never have guessed it from watching them. Yet now he looks completely in charge of this England team. Whether it is because he has a young team or whether he has simply said, ‘Sod it, I’ve taken a lot of criticism and now I’m going to do it my way,’ I don’t know. But even on the fourth evening when West Indies were only two down and the match looked destined to be a draw Cook was still impressive in the field. He seems to be on top of the big two senior bowlers in Anderson and Stuart Broad, as was made clear in the first Test when he had a little argument over fielding positions with Anderson and very much got his own way. James Anderson (left) celebrates the dismissal of West Indies batsman Marlon Samuels . Cook (left) celebrates with team-mate Gary Ballance (right) during the second test last week . And it makes such a massive difference to the captain if he is scoring runs. Everything becomes clearer and you do not have to fret over your place. OK, Cook hasn’t scored that elusive century yet and the big test will come when he faces the moving ball again but for now his game looks in very good order again and he is making very good half-centuries. You have to say that it suits the way England play to be up against West Indies. England like to sit in, be patient and build pressure on a side. West Indies are perfect for that because they are not coming at England in this series. Cook appears to have learnt from his mistakes. Last summer, for instance, his decision to spread the field when Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews was batting with the tail lost England the Headingley Test but here he kept the field up to Denesh Ramdin in a similar situation and kept the pressure on. Cook (right) kicks the wicket in frustration after being dismissed for 13 runs against  the West Indies . The test, of course, will come when Brad Haddin is flailing it to all parts at some point this summer and the wheels are coming off Anderson and Broad. That is when Cook will need to show the same presence and leadership. For now there is a lot for Cook and England to be pleased about, not least the batting of Joe Root and Gary Ballance who are breaking all sorts of records at such a young age. Ballance may not always be easy on the eye but who cares? He gets the job done. There is, of course, still work to be done and there is clearly a concern over Jonathan Trott going into Friday’s third Test. Trott was frenetic again at the start of his second innings, having looked much more like his old self as he spent time at the crease first time round. As I said before the second Test, he needs to be given the whole of this series before England make a decision on him. If he can bring his old calmness to the start of his innings as an opener, England will have a very good player back in the side. But if he continues to be too frenetic in Barbados then England might have to think again at the start of a huge summer when life will get much tougher.
target: Jimmy Anderson's recent performance in the second Test was one of the greatest I've ever seen from an England cricketer .
  However, Alastair Cook's played an even bigger role in England's success .
  Cook's battling and captaincy qualities were clear to see throughout .
  Elsewhere, England will have a very good player back on their hands if Jonathan Trott can regain his old calmness going into the third test .