‘You’re the greatest of the lot’
ANDREW STRAUSS has dubbed his old opening partner Alastair Cook “England’s greatest player”.
Strauss (below, batting with Cook) is biased towards a pal who played such a big part in his own career as England captain, but the current director of cricket is not one for hyperbole.
So when he calls Cook the best ever he has given it plenty of thought.
“I’ve been trying to say for years that opening the batting is by far the hardest thing you can do in cricket,” said Strauss in an interview with Sky Sports.
“That average, that consistency, the hundreds and the match-winning hundreds make him England’s greatest player ever in my opinion.
“Greatness doesn’t come on the back of one innings or a good summer, it comes on the back of repeated performance over an extended period of time. He’s done it and got the stats to back it up.
“He’s got the universal respect of everyone he’s played against all around the world, he’s done it against every single team and very few players are able to do that.
“Just look at the number of matches he played – 160. I don’t think people appreciate just what goes into performing just one Test match for your country.
“All the mental anguish, the practice, the gym work. To do that as long as he’s done as an opening bat is an unbelievable achievement.”