Re: Alistair Cook - Under rated?
Posted: Wed Jun 01, 2016 6:25 am
Slightly bemused by the amount of effort being expended by some posters in attempting to downgrade Cook's achievements...
Look , nobody (that I've seen) is suggesting he is up there with Bradman Hobbs Tendulkar etc ; but it seems to have been largely overlooked in all the discussion of averages that Cook is the only opener , apart from Gavaskar , to have reached 10,00 runs. (The Indian master has a considerably better average ; not surprised ; he was very good. ) There have certainly been openers with better averages , even in this modern era of lots of Tests ; but no others who have been able to sustain their level of performance long enough to reach this ( arbitrary , granted ; but conveniently significant) milestone.
Without digging around to find "excuses" for why other fine players haven't done so , I would just say this ought to count for something ,surely ?
As to "all time greats" I reckon that is a personal view which will vary widely. All I would say there is that Cook compares pretty well with both Boycott and Gooch among England openers ; all different types but I think he may well end his career generally ranked above either...we shall see.
By the way I agree Ryan Harris was a damn good bowler ; but he played just twenty seven Tests ; most of them at home , in England , or in NZ - and never played on the graveyards of India and UAE : to call him an all time great is stretching things ...
Look , nobody (that I've seen) is suggesting he is up there with Bradman Hobbs Tendulkar etc ; but it seems to have been largely overlooked in all the discussion of averages that Cook is the only opener , apart from Gavaskar , to have reached 10,00 runs. (The Indian master has a considerably better average ; not surprised ; he was very good. ) There have certainly been openers with better averages , even in this modern era of lots of Tests ; but no others who have been able to sustain their level of performance long enough to reach this ( arbitrary , granted ; but conveniently significant) milestone.
Without digging around to find "excuses" for why other fine players haven't done so , I would just say this ought to count for something ,surely ?
As to "all time greats" I reckon that is a personal view which will vary widely. All I would say there is that Cook compares pretty well with both Boycott and Gooch among England openers ; all different types but I think he may well end his career generally ranked above either...we shall see.
By the way I agree Ryan Harris was a damn good bowler ; but he played just twenty seven Tests ; most of them at home , in England , or in NZ - and never played on the graveyards of India and UAE : to call him an all time great is stretching things ...