LEEDS, (UK), May 30 (AFP): Alastair Cook became England�s highest-ever run-scorer in Test cricket when he broke the record of batting mentor Graham Gooch during the second Test against New Zealand at Headingley here today.
The 30-year-old left-handed opener started England�s reply to New Zealand�s first innings 350 today needing just 32 more runs to surpass Gooch�s mark of 8,900 runs in 118 Tests.
Cook, first coached by ex-England captain Gooch as a schoolboy, reached lunch unbeaten on 27.
Then, to his 13th ball after lunch Cook passed Gooch � when he square-drove Tim Southee for four to break a record that had stood for nearly 22 years.
Cook, speaking on Thursday, insisted he was nowhere near Gooch�s class as a batsman and tried to play down the significance of the landmark. �It would be a lovely moment. I wouldn�t put myself anywhere near in his class but it would be a great moment,� said Cook.
�If I�m lucky enough to get that it will be a moment I�ll remember but if I am 30 not out it�s important in a game situation I go on and get a big score,� added the left-handed Cook, like the right-handed Gooch an Essex and England opening batsman.
Cook added: �I wouldn�t be here, or anywhere near here, without Goochie�s help, so it will be slightly strange if I do go past his record because without his hard work and dedication to me and my game, I wouldn�t have scored half the runs I would have done.
�It�s a bit of a strange one. But there will only ever be one Graham Gooch. He�s England greatest-ever batsman.�
By going past Gooch, Cook moved up to 13th place on the all-time list of leading run-scorers in Test cricket, where retired great Sachin Tendulkar remains way out in front with 15,921 runs in 200 matches.
LEEDS, (UK), May 30 (AFP): Alastair Cook became England�s highest-ever run-scorer in Test cricket when he broke the record of batting mentor Graham Gooch during the second Test against New Zealand at Headingley here today.
The 30-year-old left-handed opener started England�s reply to New Zealand�s first innings 350 today needing just 32 more runs to surpass Gooch�s mark of 8,900 runs in 118 Tests.
Cook, first coached by ex-England captain Gooch as a schoolboy, reached lunch unbeaten on 27.
Then, to his 13th ball after lunch Cook passed Gooch � when he square-drove Tim Southee for four to break a record that had stood for nearly 22 years.
Cook, speaking on Thursday, insisted he was nowhere near Gooch�s class as a batsman and tried to play down the significance of the landmark. �It would be a lovely moment. I wouldn�t put myself anywhere near in his class but it would be a great moment,� said Cook.
�If I�m lucky enough to get that it will be a moment I�ll remember but if I am 30 not out it�s important in a game situation I go on and get a big score,� added the left-handed Cook, like the right-handed Gooch an Essex and England opening batsman.
Cook added: �I wouldn�t be here, or anywhere near here, without Goochie�s help, so it will be slightly strange if I do go past his record because without his hard work and dedication to me and my game, I wouldn�t have scored half the runs I would have done.
�It�s a bit of a strange one. But there will only ever be one Graham Gooch. He�s England greatest-ever batsman.�
By going past Gooch, Cook moved up to 13th place on the all-time list of leading run-scorers in Test cricket, where retired great Sachin Tendulkar remains way out in front with 15,921 runs in 200 matches.
