England’s Cook becomes youngest batsman to score 10,000 Test runs

Chester-le-Street (UK), May 30 (IANS) England captain Alastair Cook became the youngest batsman to score 10,000 Test runs on the fourth day of the second Test against Sri Lanka here on Monday.

He is also the first English player to achieve the landmark. Cook reached the landmark by clipping a delivery from Lankan pacer Nuwan Pradeep to the leg-side for a boundary. He was on the personal score of five at the time.

Aged 31 years and 157 days, Cook, who started the match on 9,980 Test runs, fell five short of the landmark when he was caught in the gully for 15 on the opening morning of the match. But he made no mistake during the second innings, the historic moment arriving at 3:15 pm local time.

In the process, the England skipper also beat the previous record of 31 years and 326 days which was created by India legend Sachin Tendulkar against Pakistan in Kolkata on March 16, 2005. However, Tendulkar took 195 innings to reach the landmark while Cook has required 226.

Cook is the 12th player in the history of the game to score 10,000 Test runs and only the second opener. Currently playing in his 128th Test, Cook has 28 Test centuries to his name -- another England record.

He is also in line to become the second England batsman after Graham Gooch (5,917 runs) to score 5,000 Test runs at home. He is also set to overtake Ian Bell (13,331 runs) as the second-highest England run-scorer in all formats of the game.

Cook surpassed Gooch's tally of 8,900 Test runs against the West Indies at Headingley in May last year to become England's leading scorer.

Cook scored a century on his Test debut against India in 2006. He was ruled out of the next match due of illness, but has not missed a Test since.

He is the only active batsman in the 10,000 Test runs club. Brian Lara, Kumar Sangakkara, Ricky Ponting, Rahul Dravid, Mahela Jayawardene, Sunil Gavaskar, Jacques Kallis, Allan Border, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Steve Waugh are the other batsmen who have reached the milestone.

The first batsman to post 10,000 Test runs was legendary Indian opener Sunil Gavaskar, who reached the milestone against Pakistan at Ahmedabad on March 7, 1987.