Cricket-Match-Special ... A forum for discussion

Arthur Crabtree wrote:Must be the best current Test opener. Maybe Smith. But he's nearly retired.

Graeme Smith is only 31, so I don't see him retiring for a few years, unless James Pattinson convinces him to do so.

Smith is frequently rumoured to be thinking of retiring. Surprised he is so young. So he could go on. He's probably an old 31.

Have those two as openers then.

Cook averages more away from home than he does in blighty. Top stuff.

Openers this decade. It looks like Cook, and either Sehwag or Smith.

http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine ... pe=batting

Tamim is doing well.

well cook and KP both go to 22 in the same innings today

lets hope at least one of them gets to 23 in the next game

Arthur Crabtree wrote:Openers this decade. It looks like Cook, and either Sehwag or Smith.

http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine ... pe=batting

Tamim is doing well.

That's an interesting list, Arthur. Cook and Smith are definately the best test openers in the world right now. Sehwag third sounds about right. I'm a bit surprised to see Tamim so high. I saw him bat at Lord's as few years ago and thought he had the goods back then. Him and Shakib are Bangladesh's only world class players, IMHO.

Arthur Crabtree wrote:Openers this decade. It looks like Cook, and either Sehwag or Smith.

http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine ... pe=batting

Tamim is doing well.

Thought Dilshan would be higher. Gambhir's had a bit of a shocker there.

Now it's a two horse race. Cook and Pietersen have matched each other this year, with three tons apiece. Strauss has two, but is out the contest. Trott has one and Bell none, so they fall behind.

In the previous two years, Cook had nine (!) hundreds and Pietersen three. Pietersen seems to be over the slump of his post-Moores period, and feels to be in the middle of a real golden period. Cook struggled against South Africa, but has matched KP for runs, hundreds and averages (46) this year.

They look likely to match each other in the short term. Maybe this could spark a little useful competitive motivation.

Cook is the winner.

How many will go on and get?

Countdown to 30 hundreds.

Remarkable achievement from Cook. Remember so clearly his debut in Nagpur. The hundred and the fifty. The 'Alastair, marry me' sign in the crowd. Difficult for him to learn his game in the international arena, with the inevitable fluctuations of form that has brought about. His batting in Asia over the past year has improved greatly. Now he is that rarity, the genuinely world class England batter. Brilliant series for him as well. Well done skipper.

Dr Robert wrote:Cook is the winner.

How many will go on and get?

He'll go close to 50 by the time he's done. With all the Test cricket that England play, the sky is the limit for Alistair Cook. He could potentially challenge Sachin's record as the all time scorer.

Yes, well done to the young man, but, to be fair, Cook's enjoyed the benefits of protective headgear, various other protections, a bat that's nearly all "middle" and limited short-pitched bowling, none of which were enjoyed by many of his illustrious predecessors holding this record.

fantastic- the legend that is Alistair Cook

Well played Cook!

I think it unfair to compare with previous eras. If he was still alive, Colin Cowdrey would have been first to send one of his beautifully crafted hand - written notes of congratulations - and totally unconditional.

An amazing achievement by any standards.

from_the_stands wrote:He'll go close to 50 by the time he's done. With all the Test cricket that England play, the sky is the limit for Alistair Cook. He could potentially challenge Sachin's record as the all time scorer.

Beat me too it, I agree, only thing that may hold him back is the captaincy, hope that doesnt affect his batting later on down the line.