Alastair Cook on the eve of the third Test, Perth, December 12, 2013
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Showing posts with label Alastair Cook. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Alastair Cook. Show all posts
Thursday, December 12, 2013
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Alastair Cook was at Buckingham Palace to receive his MBE from The Queen
Alastair Cook was at Buckingham Palace to receive his MBE from The Queen, London, December, 6, 2011
©Getty Images
Alastair Cook was at Buckingham Palace to receive his MBE from The Queen, London, December, 6, 2011
Alastair Cook shows off his MBE alongside his girlfriend and the Beefeaters
Alastair Cook shows off his MBE alongside his girlfriend and the Beefeaters, London, December, 6, 2011
©Getty Images
Alastair Cook shows off his MBE alongside his girlfriend and the Beefeaters, London, December, 6, 2011
Friday, August 12, 2011
Alastair Cook epic sets up victory push
England v India, 3rd npower Test, Edgbaston, 3rd day
Cook's epic sets up victory push
The Report by Andrew McGlashan
August 12, 2011
As in Brisbane nine months ago this was a day for the record books with Alastair Cook to the fore. However, the landmark of a triple hundred eluded him when he fell for 294 as England built up a monumental lead of 486 at Edgbaston. Cook and Eoin Morgan, who made his second Test hundred, added 222 for the fourth wicket on another day of complete England dominance before they were given the perfect finish by removing Virender Sehwag for a king pair.
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| Alastair Cook |
Most of the day became filled with various milestones for Cook and by tea he was in the top 10 of all-time scores for England, within touching distance of joining his mentor, Graham Gooch, in the 300-club. But, trying to drive through the off side - a rare show of aggression during a display of remorseless accumulation - he picked out deep point and, instead, joined another select band of those who reached the 290s.
That list includes Sehwag - who, of course, also has triple hundreds - but in this match he hasn't been able to score a single run. Cook's dismissal prompted the declaration and Sehwag was back in the pavilion to the second ball of the innings when he played a booming drive at James Anderson which flew to first slip. England could also have removed Gautam Gambhir before the close when Graeme Swann had an lbw turned down that was hitting middle and leg. Swann will have a big say on Saturday.
Sehwag clearly wasn't ready for this Test, physically or mentally, but even for someone so renowned for shelving the coaching manual his shot-selection didn't given him much of a chance. Cook's method of batting could not be more removed from Sehwag. He has expanded his game in recent months, but in Test cricket still enjoys playing at his own pace. Cook scored seven boundaries during the day and cheers that greeted his later fours may have included a hint of irony about them. Yet even those who wished for something a touch more flamboyant can't help but marvel at Cook's powers of concentration and remorselessness. There was an era when England cried out for batsmen who could score huge totals and now they have a top-order full of them, with Cook leading the way.
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Before lunch he registered his double hundred from 378 balls and soon moved past his previous best of 235 at Brisbane in November. And the milestones kept on coming. When he went to 247 it gave him the second-highest score by an England batsman against India, with only Gooch ahead of him with 333, and Cook's 250 - which came from 485 balls - was the first such score for England since that 1990 epic by Gooch.
Alongside Cook's personal landmarks it was also a day for England to set some high points with the final total their third-highest and their best in non-timeless Tests. England's progress wasn't always scintillating but they were content to grind India down with two days still available. The innings was also halted twice for poor light, the first occasion when the floodlights couldn't be turned on due to a power failure at the ground.
As they had yesterday, England wanted to wear down the bowlers for later acceleration and that came as Tim Bresnan played some shots during a crisp half-century in a 97-run stand alongside Cook. It was a slightly improved display from the Indians as there were a few more dives in the outfield while bowlers put in some hard yards.
The main partnership, and the one that built on the previous day's gains, was between Cook and Morgan. With a deep-set field more akin to the middle overs of a one-day game it was a perfect situation for Morgan to help himself to a Test hundred. He had to be watchful against Praveen Kumar and Ishant Sharma, but was given plenty of spin to milk around.
His century arrived from 188 balls and he was soon using his feet to loft Suresh Raina down the ground. Morgan, though, hadn't wasted the two lives he was given on the second day and following two scores in the 70s this season it will have settled any debate about his position in the line-up for the foreseeable future. If he'd stayed in the middle England's rate would have increased, but attempting an inside-out drive he picked out Sehwag at cover - fortunately, given the standard of India's catching, he didn't have to move far to hold on.
It meant Ravi Bopara, on his return to Test cricket, came in at 596 for 4 with little to gain and, almost inevitably having watched the 69-over stand that preceded him, he didn't manage a long stay. He opened his account with a back-cut to third man but was trapped lbw by Amit Mishra when a delivery straightened and would have hit middle. It was due recognition for Mishra who had bowled with more verve and found considerable turn, although that was probably of more interest to Swann.
Mishra claimed his third success when Matt Prior top-edged a sweep that was well caught by Sachin Tendulkar who made good ground running from deep square leg. Wickets, though, were irrelevant; it was just a matter of Cook's progress and how many England wanted to lead by.
Bresnan provided useful impetus just as things were threatening to stall and his stay included a mighty six over midwicket off Ishant. Cook would have dearly wanted those six runs for himself, but it was about the only thing that didn't quite go to script. India have a huge challenge to even take this match to the final day.
Andrew McGlashan is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo
Posted by
M Usman Arshad
Friday, April 8, 2011
Wisden names four Cricketers of the Year
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack 2011
Wisden names four Cricketers of the Year
ESPNcricinfo staff
April 8, 2011
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| Alastair Cook adorns the cover of the 2011 Wisden |
The 2011 edition of the Wisden Cricketers' Almanackwill feature only four Cricketers of the Year, instead of the usual five, after the editor, Scyld Berry, chose to break with ancient tradition to reflect a year in which allegations of corruption during Pakistan's tour of England left a stain on the sport's reputation.
The truncated list will feature in the Almanack's 148th edition, which is officially unveiled on Wednesday. The tradition, which dates back to 1889, is the oldest individual honour in cricket, and though the format has occasionally varied, with six great bowlers being chosen for the original award, Wisden has chosen five names in every year since 1926, barring a hiatus during the Second World War.
That, however, has changed for this year, after one of the chosen Five Cricketers became embroiled in the spot-fixing furore which broke during the Lord's Test between England and Pakistan last August. Following an investigation by The News of the World, the ICC charged Pakistan's opening bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir with bowling deliberate no-balls, with their captain, Salman Butt, also implicated in the scandal.
Asif is currently serving a seven-year ban, with two suspended, Amir a straight five years and Butt 10 years, with half suspended after being found guilty by an independent tribunal. The three players are also facing criminal charges in the UK, with their trial set to get underway on May 20 at Southwark Crown Court.
Though Wisden chose not to name the omitted player, it was the performance of Amir - then 18 - which really captured the public imagination during Pakistan's tour. Bowling at genuine pace with deadly late swing from a left-arm line, he claimed 19 wickets at 18.36 in four Tests against England, and a further 11 in the two-match series against Australia, including seven in the second Test at Headingley, when Australia were bowled out for 88 on the first morning.
"If [the player in question] were exonerated, then it would be possible to reconsider the position," explained Berry. "That's why I didn't pick anyone else instead. But as things stand, we don't feel we can choose him. It's all very sad."
The other four nominees include the first players from Bangladesh and Ireland to receive the award. Tamim Iqbal struck memorable hundreds at both Lord's and Old Trafford during Bangladesh's Test tour in May and June 2010, having already shown himself to be a world-class player at home against England two months earlier, while Eoin Morgan's innovative strokeplay helped propel England to the World Twenty20 in the Caribbean, as well as secure home ODI series wins over Australia and Pakistan.
The other two players are Jonathan Trott, who announced himself as England's most reliable run-scorer, with 1,325 Test runs in the calendar year, including scores of 226 and 184 in consecutive Lord's Tests, and Chris Read, who captained Nottinghamshire to a thrilling County Championship victory, which was sealed on the final day of the season with a surging victory over Lancashire at Old Trafford.
Alastair Cook, who was eligible for selection, missed out on the honour because excellence in (or influence on) the previous English summer are the major criteria for the Cricketer of the Year accolade. Though Cook recorded an outstanding tally of 766 runs in the recent Ashes series, his returns in the 2010 summer were poor. He has, however, been honoured by appearing on the cover of the Almanack, pictured celebrating his century in the Sydney Test.
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