The former because of England’s historical rivalry (the Ashes), and the latter because of England’s struggles in the spinner-friendly Indian pitches. The toughest Test for any batsman, especially from England, comes when he goes to Australia or India. While his highest score of 294 against India at Birmingham in 2011 was a marathon knock which showcased all his qualities – patience, class, technique and ability to bat long, his 122 against the same opponent on a rank turner at Mumbai in 2012 elevated him to the league of legends. Cook learnt those lessons to perfection and has 7 scores in excess of 150, including 2 double centuries. England’s batting coach – Graham Gooch – insisted on his batsmen to score “Daddy hundreds”, and not be content with just centuries. More than the number of centuries, what’s impressive is his hunger for big runs even after scoring a hundred. He has more Test centuries than any other English batsman to have played the game. Nothing describes Cook’s ability to score runs more than his high scores in Test cricket. But Cook is blessed with a robust technique, temperament and the patience required to counter the conditions even when they are not conducive to batting, especially at the top order. It is never easy being a Test opener in the country of England – the new ball generally swings rapidly and it takes a great deal of quality for any opener to survive, let alone score runs consistently. Such is Cook’s reputation in World Cricket at the moment that, at the age of 28, he is already considered as a legend, or at least one in the making. The fact that those words came from a batsman who is considered one of the best openers Test cricket has ever seen makes it even praiseworthy. It is not easy for a batsman to receive such high praise from a former cricketer, especially when the concerned persons are from different countries. '15,000 Test runs and 50 Test centuries are not beyond him' - Sunil Gavaskar said about Alastair Cook.
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