DURHAM, England, (Reuters) – Captain Alastair Cook savoured a special moment in his glittering career ater becoming the first England cricketer to reach 10,000 test runs during the second test against Sri Lanka in Durham yesterday.
The left-handed opener was the youngest player and 12th overall to reach the landmark as he helped England secure a nine-wicket victory on the fourth day that gave the hosts an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sunil Gavaskar, Ricky Ponting, Steve Waugh, Allan Border, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Brian Lara, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Jacques Kallis are the other batsmen on the list.
“It’s a very special moment,” the 31-year-old told the presentation ceremony after making 47 not out to guide England to a meagre victory target of 79.
“The game is not about personal milestone…it’s about winning games for England and scoring runs to do that.
“Second to that there are little milestones along the way and certainly it’s been a little bit on my shoulders, I cannot lie, because everyone’s been telling me how many I need to get there.”
Cook, who took over as captain from Andrew Strauss in 2012, has a highest test score of 294, against India in 2011.
He has played 128 tests and has a high-class average of 46.49, having accumulated an England record tally of 28 hundreds and 47 half-centuries.
“It’s a very special day because my family are here to see it,” said Cook, referring to his wife and young daughter.
“Unfortunately, my mum and dad went home last night but I’m sure they are watching on TV.”
The fire in Cook’s belly seems to be burning as bright as ever and he looked forward with relish to the batting challenges ahead.
“There are always questions to be asked, no matter how many runs you’ve got behind you,” he said. “The next innings is always the most important one and you’re always going to be tested by the best bowlers.
“One thing I’m proud of is that to be at the top of the batting order, against the new ball, scoring those runs does mean a lot.”
Scoreboard
England 1st innings 498 for 9 decl (M. Ali 155no, A. Hales 83, J. Root 80; N. Pradeep 4-107)
Sri Lanka 1st innings 101 (S. Broad 4-40)
Sri Lanka 2nd innings (Overnight: 309-5)
D. Karunaratne c Root b Woakes 26
K. Silva c Bairstow b Finn 60
K. Mendis c Bairstow b Anderson 26
L. Thirimanne b Ali 13
A. Mathews c Bairstow b Anderson 80
D. Chandimal b Broad 126
M. Siriwardana c Hales b Anderson 35
R. Herath lbw b Anderson 61
S. Eranga b Anderson 1
S. Lakmal c Broad b Woakes 11
N. Pradeep not out 13
Extras (b-5 lb-11 nb-6 w-1) 23
Total (all out, 128.2 overs) 475
Fall of wickets: 1-38 D. Karunaratne,2-79 K. Mendis,3-100 L. Thirimanne,4-182 K. Silva,5-222 A. Mathews,6-314 M. Siriwardana,7-430 R. Herath,8-442 S. Eranga,9-453 D. Chandimal,10-475 S. Lakmal
Bowling J. Anderson 27 – 9 – 58 – 5 S. Broad 24 – 6 – 71 – 1(nb-2) C. Woakes 27.2 – 8 – 103 – 2(w-1) S. Finn 19 – 0 – 78 – 1(nb-1) M. Ali 28 – 5 – 136 – 1(nb-3) J. Vince 1 – 1 – 0 – 0 J. Root 2 – 0 – 13 – 0
England 2nd innings (Target: 79 runs)
A. Cook not out 47
A. Hales b Siriwardana 11
N. Compton not out 22
Extras 0
Total (for 1 wickets, 23.2 overs) 80
Fall of wickets: 1-35 A. Hales Did not bat: J. Root, J. Vince, J. Bairstow, M. Ali, C. Woakes, S. Broad, S. Finn, J. Anderson Bowling R. Herath 10 – 3 – 18 – 0 N. Pradeep 2 – 0 – 12 – 0 M. Siriwardana 7.2 – 0 – 37 – 1 S. Lakmal 3 – 0 – 9 – 0 S. Eranga 1 – 0 – 4 – 0 Referees Umpire: Aleem Dar Umpire: Sundaram Ravi TV umpire: Rod Tucker Match referee: Andy Pycroft Result: England won by 9 wickets.
