Cook’s style statement
England’s captain Alastair Cook may have got himself run out for 190 in most peculiar fashion in the ongoing Third Test in Kolkata, but not before he put himself in the record books for many grand achievements.
He surpassed an England record of most Test centuries that had stood 73 years when Colin Cowdrey, Geoff Boycott and Kevin Pietersen joined Wally Hammond on 22 hundreds. He is also the youngest batsman to pass 7,000 runs even if he took 15 more innings than Sachin Tendulkar.
A remarkable statistic is Cook scoring five centuries in as many Tests as skipper, three in trying conditions in this India series in which blatant attempts were made to tamper with pitch preparation to suit Dhoni’s Team India. Cook’s consistency is staggering, his composure at the crease a reflection of concentration levels and his ability to lead from the front while opening the innings giving the touring English side an added sense of purpose and intent. Considering England’s seven Test defeats this year helps to put Cook’s efforts in perspective.
Cook is not 28 yet and with years of productive cricket ahead of him representing a team that plays an average of 13-14 Tests per year, his chances of obliterating many batting records cannot be ruled out. Thought of initially as a workmanlike opener who began with a century on debut in India, he has acquired quite some style as a batsman even as he upholds the primacy of Test matches that cricketers feel so much for.
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