Sportsmail columnist Jonny Bairstow on his captain making history 10,000 runs... but Cooky still isn’t satisfied!
CAPTAIN FANTASTIC
EVERYONE in the England team was delighted that our captain became the first Englishman to reach 10,000 Test runs as we won the series against Sri Lanka at Durham.
Alastair Cook’s record really does speak for itself. The way he has scored so many runs for such a long time at the top of the order in English conditions against all types of bowling is testament to his quality. We were all out on the balcony when he hit that boundary to get there. It was an historic moment and will remain in our memories for years to come.
TAKING IT IN HIS STRIDE
YOU know what Cooky is like. He’s pretty understated and didn’t make much of a fuss afterwards. There wasn’t a huge celebration despite the milestone. Of course we all congratulated him but he reminded us that Sri Lanka defeated us in our own back yard two years ago so we shouldn’t take them nor our achievement in winning this series lightly.
People have been writing them off left, right and centre but we certainly haven’t done and they showed in their second innings what they can do. The bottom line to Cooky’s message was that we still have a job to do at Lord’s. Winning this series 3-0 is a massive target for us. We’re not satisfied with two wins. We know we have to perform consistently.
THE PERFECT VIEW
I HAD the best view in the house from behind the stumps to watch another master at work in Jimmy Anderson taking eight more wickets and going to No 1 in the world bowling rankings.
The same applies to Jimmy as it does to Cooky. He is a great of the game and to go past 450 Test wickets was another huge milestone for him and English cricket. Conditions were very different in Durham from last week at Headingley. There wasn’t anything like the seam and swing for Jimmy to work with but he can take wickets on any surface.
It’s a real pleasure to work with him but it’s also a challenge because he wouldn’t have taken all those wickets if it were easy to read which way the ball is going to go! There are subtle little signals to pick up but you definitely don’t know which way the ball is going to move with his wobble seam deliveries because it could go either way!
STRENGTH IN DEPTH
IT DIDN’T feel any different to me going in at six rather than seven in this Test. I’m not fussed where I bat, to be honest. Our batting depth is one of our great strengths when you can have someone like Moeen Ali, who has opened the batting for England, coming in at seven or eight.
What an exceptional innings Mo played at Durham to put us in such a strong position and Chris Woakes stepped in for Ben Stokes and put in a fantastic performance too. It shows how many good players we have around at the moment.
It was good to see Ben at the ground. He seemed all right. He’s got a bit of a recovery period to get through after his injury but it’s lovely to know that we have someone of his quality to come back in.
AIMING FOR CATCH 22
I WAS delighted to take seven more catches. That makes 16 in the series so far and somebody said that the record for a three-match series is 22 so that’s something to think about at Lord’s. But I don’t want to look too far ahead. I’m happy with the way I’m moving and catching the ball and contributing to a side that’s doing really well. I was disappointed to put one down on that last day, of course I was, but I was satisfied with the way I kept on a pitch that went up and down a bit. It’s part and parcel of the job but it’s one that I really enjoy.
A DURHAM PUZZLE
THE TV cameras caught me doing my sudoku puzzle on the dressing room balcony during our run chase on Monday. It’s nice to switch off every now and then during play. It’s either a sudoku or a little nap for me.
HOMEWARD BOUND
THE early end of the Test meant that I was able to head back to Headingley yesterday to take in a bit of the Roses match that, at the time of writing, was going pretty well for Yorkshire.
There was a bit of talk yesterday that we may lose our coach Jason Gillespie at the end of the season but I see he’s come out to say he won’t be leaving us to join Australia, so that’s great news. Dizzy is brilliant for Yorkshire and hopefully will be for some time to come, but who knows what the future holds?
WHITE ROSE, WHITE BALL
I’LL be back playing for Yorkshire in the Twenty20 Roses match on Friday which I’m really looking forward to. They are great occasions and I’m sure we’ll get a nice warm welcome from a full house at Old Trafford!
It’s a big ambition of mine to play more white-ball cricket for England and I’d love to feature in the matches against Sri Lanka. This game will be another opportunity to press my claims.
SIX OF THE BEST
THAT’S six wins out of six Tests at Chester-le-Street for England and Durham put on a great match. It was a little disappointing there wasn’t a bit more in the pitch but it’s a great place to play cricket even though it’s even colder than Headingley! The boys had plenty of layers on during this match! Lord’s next.
Remember my bucket list in my first Sportsmail column? A Test century at Lord’s was next on my list after one at Headingley and next week would be a lovely time to tick that one off. But more importantly we want to win. We’ve lost a couple of dead rubbers in recent times. Now’s the time to put that right.