Graham Gooch, legendary opener and a former captain of England, recently completed the fund-raising ‘Goochie’s Coast 2 Coast 2018 Walk’.

Gooch, who is the president of the Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA), and his 24x7 companions walked for 13 days and covered a distance of 193 miles.

The other evening, the 65-year-old Gooch spoke to The Telegraph at some length while travelling to Durham for a programme with Mike Gatting.

Excerpts...

Q Well, have you recovered from the fund-raising Walk?

A The Walk went off well, no injuries or issues with the body... We kept to our schedule.

Q You’d been looking to raise £20,000. Was that target exceeded?

A We raised around £22,000, which is encouraging. As I told you before the Walk, the money raised will be divided between the PCA Benevolent Fund and the Scholarship which bears my name.

Q Was the Walk limited to you, long-time partner Julia and three friends, or did well-wishers too join in to support an excellent cause?

A Other friends and supporters did join our initiative, but for specific stretches.

Q In terms of a challenge, how demanding was it?

A (Laughs) It was closer to Test cricket, not anywhere close to a T20 match! We encountered bad weather for the first couple of days, but it was fine after that.

Q Could the Walk become an annual feature?

A It’s possible, but I obviously haven’t given it any thought. ThoughtSpot, co-founded by Ajeet Singh, came forward to help us and Sherpa Van took care of transportation of the luggage etc... We’d walk for around 15 miles a day and spend the night either in hotels, guest houses or even pubs. It was an experience.

Q Some questions on cricket... Life without Alastair Cook is going to be difficult for England...

A One has to accept that Alastair won’t be there at Galle, when the first Test after The Oval (against India) gets underway on November 6... It’s going to be strange, but Alastair hadn’t been meeting his high standards over the past 12-18 months and decided to go out on his terms. England will be missing a rock in the XI... However, team sport is such that if one door closes, another opens... In fact, with Test captain Joe Root not keen on batting at No.3, the first three positions are actually up for grabs.

Q India have, after the Test series in England, dumped Murali Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan. Some feel it’s the end of the road for them in the oldest and longest format. Your take?

A Look, it’s premature to write off Vijay and Dhawan. Both have the talent to return to the Test fold... Batsmen do go through bad patches.

[While Shikhar regularly features in ODIs and in T20Is, Vijay has come to be regarded as a one-format batsman. The 34-year-old hasn’t played either an ODI or a T20I for well over three years.]

Q Vijay played for Essex at the end of the season...

A I’m glad you’ve brought this up. Vijay played brilliantly for Essex and, thanks to him, we finished No.3 in Division I of the County Championship (behind Surrey and Somerset). Essex won all three matches that Vijay played in... In five innings, he had one hundred, three 50s and one low score.

Q India capped teenaged Prithvi Shaw in the just-ended Test series against the West Indies. Thoughts?

A I’ve heard only good things about Shaw. To get 134 on debut is special and speaks volumes of the youngster’s confidence and skill. There’s a fair chance Shaw is in for a good career.

Q Your advice for openers?

A (Passionately) The best place to bat is at the very top of the order, so make the most of opportunities there. Also, believe in yourself... The whole match is in front of you, the canvas is there for you to put in the colours of your choice.

Q What did you make of Virat Kohli’s captaincy during the Test series in England?

A Kohli was impressive at Trent Bridge, the only Test India won, but okay otherwise. As a batsman, of course, Kohli alone stood out and absorbed the pressure.

Q Root as captain?

A Kohli is the more experienced captain and leads in all formats... Root is learning. He needs to consistently score, as that makes it easier for a batsman-captain... England, I feel, need to work out a style of playing Test cricket. Sometimes, one gets the impression that the one-day mode is being adopted... There must be clarity and consistency.

Q Did anything about India make you sit up and take notice, so to say?

A Mohammed Shami and (Jasprit) Bumrah, who wasn’t available from the start of the Test series, were outstanding... England won 4-1, but the scoreline wasn’t exactly a true reflection. But, yes, Root and his men won the key moments. That made the difference.

Q Final one... Are you in favour of the 100-ball format being introduced by the England & Wales Cricket Board from 2020?

A The Hundred will be something new, a franchise-based tournament on the IPL model. Nobody should knock it off without it even being tried... I wouldn’t like to be the one bowling that one 10-ball over at the end, though!