The timing of Rory Burns, as it has been all season, was perfect as he became the first batsman this summer to pass 1,000 County Championship runs the a day after Alastair Cook announced his impending retirement from international cricket.
Cook’s departure after this week’s final Test against India at the Oval will leave a chasm at the top of England’s order. No one will surely be able to be a direct replacement for a player who over the past 12 years amassed the England records for the most Test runs, centuries and caps.
Yet Burns, the Surrey captain, appears the best option to come into Cook’s position at least for the first tour of the winter in Sri Lanka after a season in which his 1,051 championship runs at 65.69 have put his team on the verge of a first title since 2002.
Burns has been integral to Surrey’s rise to the top and his patient innings of 90 on the first day at Cook’s home ground of Chelmsford left the runaway leaders on an imposing 256 for four overnight. The fact that an England selector in James Taylor was watching from the stands as Burns skilfully saw off the new ball during an innings spanning more than four hours will certainly not harm the 27-year-old’s chances of selection for the three-Test series in Sri Lanka that starts in November.
It would be a shock if he did not get the call, even if Peter Siddle, a bowler who has 62 Test caps for Australia, removed him 10 runs short of what would have been a fourth century of the season.
Alec Stewart, the former England captain who is Surrey’s director of cricket, certainly thinks a player who has scored more than 1,000 first-class runs for the past five summers deserves his chance.
“He has scored runs aplenty in championship cricket for four or five years now, so he has earned the right,” Stewart said.
“People will say I am biased but I look at it from a neutral point of view and, if he isn’t the replacement, then I will have a lot to say. I’d be very comfortable in recommending him to the selectors if asked and saying he is the right person to step up.
“You are never going to fill the shoes of Cook but Rory could at least have a good run opening the batting home and away so he can bed in and show the qualities he has shown for Surrey.”
Dean Elgar, Burns’ teammate at Surrey who has played 51 Tests for South Africa, even believes his captain’s dogged approach at the crease is reminiscent of Cook.
“It’s not the worst comparison,” he said. “I don’t see anything that says he can’t make it. He’s got all the attributes. At the moment he can’t go unnoticed.”
While Cook gears up for his England farewell at the Oval, Essex confirmed the 33-year-old has signed a deal that will see him play for the county for the next three summers.
Anthony McGrath, the Essex coach, is delighted Cook has committed himself long term and hopes he can follow the example of Marcus Trescothick, who at 42 is still playing for Somerset 12 years after his final Test.
“It’s great news for the club, not just on the playing side but also in the dressing room as we have a lot of young guys coming through,” McGrath said. “His wealth of experience will be massive for us over the next few years.
“He’s a fit guy and we’re hoping he’ll maybe do a Marcus Trescothick and go on for many years. He’s obviously decided time on his international career but he wants to go on playing so, as long as the appetite is there, he’s 33 and he’s got many years in front of him.”
