I never thought I'd get 10,000 runs: Alastair Cook

Alastair Cook, the England Test skipper has become the 12th player in international cricket history to score 10,000 or more runs. He achieved the feet on the fourth day of the second Test match against Sri Lanka. He is also the first Englishman to go past the landmark.

The left-handed opening batsman achieved the feat in his 229th innings of his 128th Test match. Cook achieved the feat when he tucked Nuwan Pradeep for a boundary to midwicket from the sixth ball he faced as England closed on a series-sealing victory.

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“I never thought I’d get 10,000,” he said. “Now I will have to have a rethink and set something else personally. You need something tucked away to drive you to get up running in the morning or bat in the nets. I am still hungry to achieve stuff.”

Cook had set 10,000 runs as a milestone for the last few years and now after achieving the feat he wants to set another target. He said, “The 10,000 has been a milestone that has driven me over the last few years. You get tested at the top of the order in all conditions against the best bowlers bowling with the new ball, and I am glad I have hung around long enough, not to get dropped.”

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He had 9995 runs in his account after England’s first innings. When Sri Lanka was asked to follow-on after being all-out for 101 in the first innings, it looked like Cook would have to wait until the third Test match at Lord’s to achieve get there. But a spirited batting performance from Sri Lanka from the visitors gave him the opportunity.

“Clearly everyone has been talking about it over the past couple of weeks,” said the England captain. “I have not managed to do it in style with a big score, but that shouldn’t really take away from it [the achievement]. It has played on my mind, but it is a very special moment for me personally. To join the club and the company of the people who have scored 10,000 runs.”

Cook also pointed out at some of his toughest moments in Tests as – his first Ashes in 2006-07, the home series against Pakistan in 2010, when he was nearly dropped, and the series versus Sri Lanka two years ago, which almost saw him quit captaincy.