Alastair Cook Passes Graham Gooch as England's Top Test Run-Scorer

Alastair Cook surpassed Graham Gooch as England's highest Test run-scorer on Saturday, quickly following this landmark by becoming the youngest cricketer to knock 9,000 runs on the international scene.

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Cook Surpasses 9,000 Test Runs

Tuesday, June 2

BBC Radio 5 Live's Test Match Special Twitter account provided confirmation of Cook's latest achievement: "Alastair Cook has reached 9,000 runs in his 114th test. The youngest to do so beating (Sachin) Tendulkar by 94 days."

Cook shot 56 during Tuesday's second innings appearance in the second Test against New Zealand, reported by ESPNcricinfo.

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Cook Breaks Gooch's Record

Saturday, May 30

On Saturday, Cook became England’s highest Test run-scorer as he leaped over the 21-year-old record set by Graham Gooch, as ESPNcricinfo revealed:

The England captain needed 33 runs in the second Test against New Zealand to move to 8,901 for his Test career and one ahead of Gooch’s haul, and he duly produced the goods with an excellent display.

The four that brought up the record were textbook Cook, as he perfectly placed Tim Southee’s delivery through cover point to the boundary.

Gareth Copley/Getty Images

The whole of Headingley rose to its feet as the runs were chalked up, with a banner being unwrapped with the hashtag #headchef on it, much to the amusement of many in the ground.

Now sitting top of the pile, the Essex man has some truly great names beneath him in the run-scorer stakes, as Sky Sports Cricket revealed:

He would comment about what the milestone meant to him, via Ali Martin of Guardian: 

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The madness of it is that I queued for Gooch’s autograph time and time again watching him play at Essex. Now it’s incredibly special to go past my mentor and friend. I wanted to do it with an innings rather than to scrape over the line.

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Cook’s leadership has been called into question on countless occasions recently, but his batting ability has never been doubted.

BBC Sport’s Alison Mitchell reflected on as much, saying that the record-breaking moment was truly special: “The standing ovation he is getting around Headingley just tells you the ovation and respect the England supporters have for their captain. That is a special moment for a man who has ridden all manner of ups and downs.”

Gareth Copley/Getty Images

His return to form with the bat will be just as good news to England fans as the record itself, which will now go up and up.

Gooch took the best part of 20 years to reach 8,900, and Cook has accomplished the feat in half the time. Ten thousand runs will soon be behind him, with the chances of anyone surpassing the skipper over the next few generations all but nil.

It’s a special moment for a truly special cricketer, and it could provide just the motivation he needed to steer the country right once again.