Alastair Cook surpassed his mentor Graham Gooch to become England’s record Test run-scorer only for a flurry of late wickets to leave New Zealand in the ascendancy going into day three of the second Test and the captain calling for more hard work.
Cook’s 75, which included the 32 runs required to move beyond Gooch’s tally of 8,900, and a maiden Test century for his opening partner, Adam Lyth, helped England add 177 for the first wicket in reply to the tourists’ 350.
But by the close the home side had stumbled to 253 for five. Ian Bell and Jos Buttler, unbeaten on 12 and six respectively, are now charged with wiping off the 97-run deficit before a significant first-innings lead can be posted.
“We got off to a good start with the bat. Losing five for 76 was disappointing but that is Test cricket – it can ebb and flow and the new ball under lights was tough, make no mistake,” Cook said.
“There is a lot of hard work to do but we have some good players to come. Get past their score, we can then put some pressure on them.”
Cook said the lead-up to his own personal milestone meant a unique experience out in the middle. “I’ve never been nervous in the 20s before but I was nervous today,” he said. “It was an amazing moment. I probably don’t deserve to be on top of the list in terms of the way I play but to be there with the runs I’ve scored is very nice.
“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,” Cook said.
The Yorkshire left-hander Lyth said he was “very pleased to get three figures in front of my home crowd” after scoring 107 in only his third Test innings.
“Getting a hundred [means] you know you can do it at this level. Hopefully there are a few more runs to come. It was very special to get a hundred here in front of my home fans and family.
“I was a little bit nervous in the 90s, but to be fair New Zealand did bowl pretty well. Reaching the hundred was a moment that I’ll never forget. A couple of years ago I didn’t deserve the England shirt but I’ve worked hard and I think I deserve it now,” Lyth said.
