Sachin's career was sublime. But Cook's could surpass it ( Article by Peter Oborne)

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http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/peteroborne/100246434/sachin-tendulkars-career-was-sublime-but-alastair-cooks-could-surpass-it/ Peter Oborne Amid the celebrations of Sachin Tendulkar’s sublime career, I have seen it written time and again that the little master’s achievement can never be repeated. I disagree. There is one serious candidate who can surpass Tendulkar. Alastair Cook, the England cricket captain, already has 97 Test matches under his belt, in the course of which he has scored 7,801 runs at an average of 47.85, including 25 centuries. Cook plays on average a dozen Tests a year. At the rate he is going, he needs only another eight or at most nine years at the top to surpass Tendulkar’s 200 Tests. That is entirely feasible. Cook is 28 years old, and will be 36 in eight years time, by no means ancient for a Test cricketer. Tendulkar, let’s not forget, has just retired at the age of 40. Of course, all manner of things can go wrong: injury, early retirement, permanent loss of form. But Cook has already displayed outstanding temperament. In many ways he is similar to Tendulkar. There is very little swagger to him, he is undemonstrative, he remains a very private person. He allows his achievements to speak for him. And while the evidence is there for all to see that Cook is a great Test batsman, it is not yet proven that he will turn into a great Test captain. Tendulkar, it should be remembered, never quite came off as captain of India. I am sure I am putting undue burden on the England skipper (and my fellow Daily Telegraph columnist) by comparing him to the wonderful Sachin Tendulkar, especially on the eve of the Ashes series. And I accept that such a comparison is premature. But Cook has already shown that he is something very special, and we should celebrate him accordingly.

[vvvslaxman]

It is not the number of tests, runs.. It is the number of years that set Tendulkar apart. He lived through major evolution of the games. A link for couple of generations. Unless the author implies cook is going to play another 15 years i don't see him anywhere getting close to Sachin's legacy in terms of the way he carried himself, way he reinviented himself multiple times.

[GolGappe]

How about Cook in ODI's? What made Tendulkar greatest batsman of his era was his consistency across both formats of the game for almost 2 decades. Cook has been keeping up in tests but is a nobody in limited over format. Cook is enjoying his peak period but couples of tough series against teams like RSA and Australia can bring him back to earth in no time. He was very average in last Ashes series and I am sure Aussies will target him again this time around.

[Number]

Cook is not even the best test batsman of his era. KP, ABDV and Clarke are. SRT was considered an ATG even before he hit his test peak at the age of 25. So greatness goes beyond stats.

[adi B]

How about Cook in ODI's? What made Tendulkar greatest batsman of his era was his consistency across both formats of the game for almost 2 decades. Cook has been keeping up in tests but is a nobody in limited over format. Cook is enjoying his peak period but couples of tough series against teams like RSA and Australia can bring him back to earth in no time. He was very average in last Ashes series and I am sure Aussies will target him again this time around.

i agree.tendulkar played both the formats continuously for 20 odd years and was the best in both,he played through different generation,played against legends of different era,played with change of rules and of all was a sensation in the WCs..it took a toll on his body,cook cant reach the mileage sachin reached cook`s avg is pretty low compared to sachin so he really has to bat out of his skins in the next few years to even get close to his test achievements,forget about odis

[vvvslaxman]

Besides Tendulkar is by nature a dominating batsman. Cook is more of an innings builder. bloody good one at that. That is why guys like Lara, Tendulkar were in different league. Dominating bowling.

[SLICKR392]

A.Cook, my butr cheeks. Crap ! Load of ****ing bull crap. Cook's the most overrated guy around. Opponents barely see this guy as a threat, whereas KP's more dangerous than this guy.

[Stuge]

Records are meant to be broken .Someone somebody will definitely break it .

[SLICKR392]

Records are meant to be broken .Someone somebody will definitely break it .

I'm pretty sure, its not going to be this guy.

[Stuge]

I'm pretty sure' date=' its not going to be this guy.[/quote'] He may or may not be ..thats about it .At this point of time, he surely has a good chance of doing that if he is able to keep up his form ,and thats what article is all about .

[SLICKR392]

He may or may not be ..thats about it .At this point of time' date=' he surely has a good chance of doing that if he is able to keep up his form ,and thats what article is all about .[/quote'] He isn't at the best of form right now. Along with the above statement, the guy will have a rough patch. I am not a massive SRT fanboy but as VVS stated, he isn't someone who would dominate a line up. The record will be broken, but not Cook. Ponting was much closer than him in beating that record and even got close to it.

[South_Paw]

He may or may not be ..thats about it .At this point of time' date=' he surely has a good chance of doing that if he is able to keep up his form ,and thats what article is all about .[/quote'] Oh really? In that case, with the present form, Virat Kohli will end up with 25K ODI runs with 75 tons.

[fineleg]

Besides Tendulkar is by nature a dominating batsman. Cook is more of an innings builder. bloody good one at that. That is why guys like Lara' date=' Tendulkar were in different league. [b']Dominating bowling.

Early to middle of his career. After that, accumulator.

[KFC_Zinger]

Keep putting this kinda pressure and he will start to feel what SRT did..... by the way what's his record in LOI's

[Stuge]

Oh really? In that case' date=' with the present form, Virat Kohli will end up with 25K ODI runs with 75 tons.[/quote'] who knows he might be :winky:

[vvvslaxman]

Early to middle of his career. After that, accumulator.

FOr the first 10 years he was in sublime touch. Cook is more an innings builder by nature against average bowling attacks. KP is a better batsman.

[Zap_Brannigan]

My initial reaction was "It doesnt matter if he accumulates all his runs but if any player gets close to 200 tests and average 50, then he is a great player". But then i remembered chanderpaul, whom i would never think to be great. At around the 100 test mark ,Sachin was near his peak and averaged close to 60, so lets wait and see how cook does with the rest of his career. Sachin has also done it for over 20 years in 2 drastically different format of the game. In ODIs, He averaged 43 at a SR of 85+ even in the 90s when there were no other batsman at that time with a high average scored at a high SR and there were hardly two or three batmen in tests that was as good as him.

[GoldenSun]

My initial reaction was "It doesnt matter if he accumulates all his runs but if any player gets close to 200 tests and average 50, then he is a great player". But then i remembered chanderpaul, whom i would never think to be great. At around the 100 test mark ,Sachin was near his peak and averaged close to 60, so lets wait and see how cook does with the rest of his career. Sachin has also done it for over 20 years in 2 drastically different format of the game. In ODIs, He averaged 43 at a SR of 85+ even in the 90s when there were no other batsman at that time with a high average scored at a high SR and there were hardly two or three batmen in tests that was as good as him.

Regarding batsmen from his generation, Lara is the only one that deserves to be on par with him. Ponting was great too can't ignore that.

[G_B_]

an article written to pander to the English readers. Nothing more nothing less. Aliester cook will probably play more tests than Sachin. I have doubts on the runs part.

[deathmonger]

People taper off. SRT avgd 60 at his peak and tapered off to 53. Cook is already at 47. That's why Sachin is the best - maintaining such quality for so long.