My apologies, Brian
A HUMBLE and emotional Alastair Cook says he feels “sorry for Brian Lara” after eclipsing the West Indian legend on the all-time run-scorers’ list with a stunning doublecentury at the MCG yesterday.
Cook — who admitted to feeling the pinch after a less than impressive first three Tests of this Ashes series — sent records tumbling as he reached 244no at stumps on day three to make for 11,956 Test runs.
Lara (11,953) was relegated to seventh on the all-time runs table courtesy of a Cook cover drive that went for four in the final over of play.
The England opener was taken aback last night when quizzed on his rise in the record books. “I can’t really explain that,” Cook said.
“I probably feel a bit sorry for Brian Lara to be brutally honest. But it’s obviously a special moment to see your name up there.”
Cook, who turned 33 on Christmas Day, also became the first Englishman to score more than 200 at the MCG and overtook another West Indies champion — Viv Richards — in posting the biggest ever score by a visiting player at the ground. “I always feel as though I’ve got the backing of the selectors but you’ve still got to deliver the goods and I hadn’t done that on this tour and it was frustrating, very frustrating,” he said.
“From where I’d been in this tour it meant a lot (on Wednesday, on 104) and then (yesterday) I was quite proud I managed to back it up.”
Cook’s total came as his captain, Joe Root, again failed to convert a half-century into a century, falling for 61. Root is yet to crack a century this series, managing just three from his past 37 Test innings.