England vs. India: Alastair Cook nears half-century in his final Test
Opener hits unbeaten 46 and fans at The Oval will be willing him to score a ton
Cook still has an appetite for runs
Alastair Cook finished the third day of England’s fifth Test against India unbeaten on 46. The Oval crowd will be willing him to make history by scoring a century today.
The last England batsman to sign off his Test career with a hundred was Nasser Hussain against New Zealand in 2004. Before him it was Colin Milburn in 1969.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
It’s a rare accomplishment, therefore, but it would fitting for Cook if he became only the third Englishman in 50 years to achieve the feat.
Famous five
Cook, who is playing his 161st and final Test, is England’s leading run-scorer in Test cricket and if he scores 30 more today he will pass the 12,400 runs compiled by Kumar Sangakkara and move into fifth spot on the all-time list.
That will be of secondary importance to Cook, a team man through and through, who yesterday helped steer his side through a tough afternoon when Keaton Jennings and Moeen Ali fell cheaply. That brought Joe Root to the wicket and together with Cook the pair took England from 62-2 to 114-2 at the close.
India tail wags
That gives the home side a lead of 154, a strong position to be in against an Indian team with a reputation for failing fourth innings run chases.
That they are still in the game was due to impressive knocks from debutant Hanuma Vihari (56) and a rip-roaring 86 not out from Ravindra Jadeja.
That got the tourists up to a respectable 292 all out. When Jennings once more gave away his wicket (and quite possibly his place on the plane to Sri Lanka this autumn) and Ali went for 20, India were on the up.
Irreplaceable
Cook and Root brought them back down to earth and all eyes will be on the departing legend today to see if he can score a 33rd Test century.
“It’d be fantastic, wouldn’t it?” said England’s assistant coach, Paul Farbrace, when asked about the possibility of Cook bowing out with a ton.
“I think he’s just enjoying milking all the applause he’s getting. I think it’s just driving him on to bat as long as he possibly can.”
Cook made a century on Test debut 12 years ago against India and in 291 innings since he has amassed 12,371 runs, but Farbrace said it’s not just what he does with his bat that England will struggle to replace.
“He just seems to cope with everything that’s in front of him,” he explained. “As much as we’re going to miss his runs and his catches, I think the calming influence he has among the team, the staff, everybody… is something we’ll all miss when he’s not in the dressing room.”
One final glimpse
In the meantime there’s one last chance to watch the great man in action. As former England captain Michael Vaughan tweeted last night: “With Alastair Cook 46 not out I recommend every Cricket Fan to be at the Oval tomorrow please.”
Today’s play starts at 11am.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Who are undecided voters, anyway?
Talking Points They might decide the presidential election
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Wildlife populations drop a 'catastrophic' 73%
Speed Read The decline occurred between 1970 and 2020
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Arizona kicks off swing-state early voting
Speed Read The voting began with less than a month to go before the presidential election
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Graham Thorpe obituary: 'chameleon' batsman with 100 England caps
In depth Cricketer's 'bottle in abundance' endeared him to fans
By The Week UK Published
-
The Ashes: can England mount a glorious comeback?
feature ‘Herculean’ task follows ugly scenes at controversial second test
By The Week Staff Published
-
English cricket is ‘racist, sexist and elitist’, says independent report
Speed Read Chair of governing body apologises after crushing indictment of the sport ‘at all levels’
By Rebekah Evans Published
-
England are the ‘undisputed kings’ of white-ball cricket
feature Ben Stokes scored the winning run as England beat Pakistan in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup final
By Mike Starling Published
-
Ben Stokes and England set up a ‘grand finale’ against South Africa
feature In an old-school Test victory at Old Trafford, England’s captain scored a century and took four crucial wickets
By The Week Staff Published
-
‘Alarm bells’ for authorities: is there too much cricket being played?
Talking Point Ben Stokes quitting one-day internationals has sparked a debate over the packed schedule
By Mike Starling Published
-
‘Bazball’: England cricket’s glorious new look
Why Everyone’s Talking About A staggering turnaround has taken place under Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes
By The Week Staff Published
-
England’s epic win: Test cricket that was ‘quite simply, out of this world’
Why Everyone’s Talking About Victory over New Zealand was one of the most ‘glorious and scintillating’ in England’s history
By The Week Staff Published