Published: Nov 18, 2012, 01:20 PM (IST)
Edited: Aug 23, 2014, 07:47 PM (IST)
England captain Alastair Cook scored his 21st Test century against India at Ahmedabad © Getty Images
Cometh the hour, cometh the man! Skipper Alastair Cook’s fighting hundred has kept the Indians at bay and kept England alive in the first Test at Ahmedabad. Having been bowled out for only 191 in the first innings, the pressure was on England to tackle the Indian spinners and battle it out to safety. Cook in particular would have felt the heat given the fact that he has just taken over the mantle of captaincy from Andrew Strauss. However, he has surpassed those challenges and scored his second Test hundred on Indian soil.
In 2006, Cook burst on to the scene as a prodigiously talented 21-year-old in India. England were struggling with injuries and Cook was summoned from the Caribbean – where he was touring with England A – to play for his country. The then youngster took a long flight around the globe to arrive in time for his Test debut. Despite the call on short notice and the fact that the game was in India, where not many England batsmen have done well, Cook scored 60 and 104 not out on debut. Those knocks affirmed the faith of the England selectors and he has been a fixture in their Test squad since.
As the years have progressed, Cook has grown in stature – both as a batsman and as a cricketing figure. His leadership potential was recognised early as he was appointed the vice-captain at a relatively young age. In Bangladesh in 2010, he was asked to lead England in the two Tests as Strauss was rested. In those two Tests, Cook smashed two hundreds to help set up a comprehensive series win. Thus, with this ton at Ahmedabad, he has become the first man to score three hundreds in his first three Tests as captain.
Since the Ashes 2010-11, Cook’s reputation has grown tremendously as he is looked at as someone who can score big. Since then, he has been very prolific with hundreds coming at regular intervals. At the age of 27, he already has 21 Test centuries. Mohandas Menon, the famed statistician tweeted that Cook now has the most Test hundreds for England in the sub-continent. With his fifth hundred in the region, he has moved past the great Ken Barrington – who had scored four.
With 21 Test hundreds to his name, Cook is now a ton short of equalling the record for the most centuries in Test cricket for England. The greats from yesteryear – Wally Hammond, Geoffrey Boycott and Colin Cowdrey have 22 to their name. With many years of cricket ahead of him, Cook is certain to break this record and set a new benchmark for England.
Cook has put in a very disciplined effort at Ahmedabad. Knowing that the spinners would play a big role, he cut out the risks and didn’t play across the line too many times. His footwork against the tweakers was positive and he negotiated deliveries outside the off-stump very well. Nick Compton held firm with him, but once a few wickets fell – all eyes were on Cook. He remained unfazed and didn’t change his approach. His knock is a great example for other English batsmen – who perhaps have a psychological block while playing in the sub-continent.
(Nishad Pai Vaidya is a Correspondent with CricketCountry and an analyst, anchor and voice-over artist for the site’s YouTube Channel. He shot to fame by spotting a wrong replay during IPL4 which resulted in Sachin Tendulkar’s dismissal. His insights on the game have come in for high praise from cerebral former cricketers. He has also participated on live TV talk-shows on cricket. Nishad can be followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/nishad_44)
