Stats: Alastair Cook becomes England's leading run-scorer in Test cricket
Alastair Cook surpassed former England captain Graham Gooch's record (8900 runs) of Tests leading run scorer for England. Captain Cook became the all-time leading run scorer for his team after coming back from the 2nd Test's day 2 lunch session against New Zealand at Leeds.
The right-hand batsman has taken 9 years and 203 innings to get to Gooch's record (19 years & 215 inns). Cook averages more than 46 and is playing his 114th match of his career. He debuted in 2006 against India and has since then now scored 27 centuries and 40 half-centuries.
The England’s opener is still on the crease, playing at 42 not out from 99 balls. England are trailing by 258 runs with 10 wickets remaining in the 1st innings. Before this, New Zealand were bowled out for 350 runs in their 1st innings after Stuart Broad’s fantastic 5 wickets haul performance gave the home team an advantage over the fearsome visitors.
Cook is followed by Gooch, former wicket-keeper captain Alec Stewart, David Gover and Kevin Pietersen.
Top 5 England’s leading run scorer in Test cricket
| Player | Matches | Runs | Averages | 100s | 50s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alastair Cook | 114 | 8944* | 46.67 | 27 | 41 |
| Graham Gooch | 118 | 8900 | 42.58 | 20 | 46 |
| Alec Stewart | 133 | 8463 | 39.54 | 15 | 45 |
| David Gover | 117 | 8231 | 44.25 | 18 | 39 |
| Kevin Pietersen | 104 | 8181 | 47.28 | 23 | 35 |
*Stats updated till 30 May, 2015