by Arthur Crabtree » Tue May 31, 2016 12:19 am
Of the 10000+ scorers, a few don't feel to be 'all time great' players. Perhaps Chanderpaul and Jayawardene. Ponting doesn't really do it for me as a Test great, but I'm a minority there. Cook, like them, doesn't seem to be an era defining bat, like Border, Waugh, SRT and BCL. He is very driven, but that's surely a given in this company. He scores low though on glamour/star quality, and the sort of character that impresses once he leaves the crease. Statisically he's quite strong, but not in this company, as he has easily the lowest average. He scores well for longevity. He scores average for legendary feats, in this company.
I suspect we know we won't remember him as a great because the case is always having to be made for him, every time from scratch. There is no real residual belief in his legendary status. He has left behind too few shared memories. Maybe if he gets his average over 50, he'll find a place in the collective history, through stats. But I suspect his record will fall away.
An England great? Again, I'm not sure. I rate Boycott and Gooch higher. And others have been greats of the game, like Hutton, Hobbs and Sutcliffe. I'd put Cook alongside Vaughan and Strauss.
I always say that everybody's right.