'Cook is closing on Gooch - but very different as a batsman'
Friday 29 May 2015 11:02, UK
Alastair Cook is back to his best, says Nasser Hussain, as he closes in on becoming England’s top Test run scorer…
Heading to Headingley, I think Alastair Cook is batting exactly how he wants to be.
When he scored his century in Barbados last month, his reaction was almost one of relief at getting the statistic of not having scored a hundred for two years off his back.
But the celebration at Lord’s after Cook scored a wonderful 150 – one of the great innings by a Test opener I have seen – was quite punchy and seemed to show he was delighted with his form.
Alastair could pass a significant milestone in Leeds, namely overtaking Graham Gooch as his country’s leading Test run scorer, though it’s fair to say Cook and Gooch are chalk and cheese as batsmen.
Graham was a much more in-your-face, take-you-on batsman and had times where he didn’t believe anyone could bowl at him; he could hit you anywhere, especially if you were a spinner.
Alastair, in contrast, will sit in, defend and pick you off with precision, but he and Graham are similar in character, though, in their love of cricket, England and being out in the middle batting.
No one will take more pleasure in Cook leapfrogging Gooch than Graham, who has spent hours working with Alastair at Chelmsford, helping to hone his game.
No one will take more pleasure in Cook leapfrogging Gooch than Graham, who has spent hours working with Alastair at Chelmsford and helping to hone his game.
Ben Stokes is also in a hot streak of form but then he is a very streaky player.
He has had the highs of Australia, the lows of last summer and now the highs again and when the force is with him, he can do something remarkable with bat, ball and in the field.
Stokes will do silly things like slogging the ball up in the air or bowl a poor spell but we need to accept that as when he delivers he will do something very special and, by all accounts, he is a really hard worker, too.
His batting at Lord’s was sensational but he bowled exceptionally as well and he will do any role with the ball you ask him to, he’s that sort of lad.
I don’t see Stokes as a line and length bowler and he will go for runs, but that’s because he will always look to take wickets, something that is vital if you are going to bat Moeen Ali at No 8.
Before Lord’s, some people seemed to have forgotten that England are a pretty decent Test side – if they win the New Zealand series they will go to No 3 in the rankings – but the manner in which they won at HQ really caught the eye.
There was a real exciting style and brand of cricket, as proved by amount of the people who flocked through the gates on Bank Holiday Monday – that wouldn’t have happened if the cricket was drab.
England showed real character, too, as they bounced back from 30-4 on the opening morning to win a game they could have lost, so that is another positive.
With young guys in the team you are going to get dips and you can’t expect Stokes to bat like he did at Lord’s or Mark Wood to be as effective with the ball every time, but they all have immense ability, so we are going to have to live with the rollercoaster.
After Monday’s epic, the fans in Leeds might have wanted England to go straight from London to Headingley but, after the emotions and exertions, the players would have wanted a rest.
It would have been very light practice for the England boys and they will be looking forward to getting back into action, especially with a great atmosphere at a refurbished Headingley guaranteed.
Conditions-wise, Headingley will give a bit to the bowlers if it’s cloudy and be a fabulous place to bat if it’s sunny, but England need to be ruthless whatever the weather and not let things slip like they did in the West Indies.
Watch the second Test between England and New Zealand, from 10.30am, Friday, Sky Sports 2.
