Ian Bell has hailed Alastair Cook’s posting of 10,000 runs in Test cricket as a “magnificent achievement.”
Cook yesterday became the 12th batsman – and first Englishman – to reach 10,000 Test runs, adding his name to a most illustrious list entailing Sacchin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting, Jacques Kallis, Rahul Dravid, Kumar Sangakkara, Brian Lara, Shiv Chanderpaul, Mahela Jayawardene, Allan Border, Steve Waugh and Sunil Gavaskar.
To become only the 12th player to score 10,000 Test match runs is a magnificent achievement
Ian Bell
It is a feat which underlines the colossal contribution that Cook has made – and continues to make – to English cricket, says Warwickshire captain Bell.
“To become only the 12th player to score 10,000 Test match runs is a magnificent achievement,” said the Bears skipper, many of whose 118 Test appearances so far have been alongside Cook.
“It is a tribute to both his cricket skills and his mental strength, especially when you think that the vast majority of those runs have been scored under so much pressure.
“He knows his game inside out and has scored a lot of runs when the team really needs it which is the sign of a top player. He’s on the list with some great names and fully deserves to be there.”
He will probably be perceived as a great player the moment he retires
Ian Bell
Cook has had to weather his fair share of criticism – much more than his fair share, in fact – on the way to that 10,000-run milestone. And his true qualities as a cricketer and as a captain will probably not be fully appreciated until he has retired, reckons Bell.
“He will probably be perceived as a great player the moment he retires,” said the Bears skipper. “That is often the way it works. People will look back at his record personally and the record of England during his time and all the success we have had and realise that it added up to something pretty special.”
