Alastair Cook's heroics for England not only reminded me what a fine batsman he is, but also jogged my memory of another superb opener, Jimmy Cook. While the current England captain has already notched almost 7000 runs in 83 Tests before his 28th birthday, the South African was unfortunate to have apartheid wrecking his career on the international stage. He had to wait two decades as a professional before getting his chance in an official Test. By the time he arrived at the crease at Durban twenty years ago last week, he was 39 and past his best. To emphasise the point, his long overdue debut innings lasted just one ball! Caught Tendulkar bowled Kapil Dev 0! AT least he made 43 second time around. In all, he collected a mere 107 runs in six Test innings, which doesn't do justice to his enormous talent or cricketing career.
My first encounter with the name Jimmy Cook came when he joined Somerset for the 1989 season. Already a seasoned SA pro and veteran of numerous unofficial internationals against rebel touring sides, he was in his mid-thirties but left a huge stamp on the county's record books. That summer, oft remembered for Steve Waugh's Australia flattening England, Cook accumulated more than 2000 runs in 23 first-class cricket matches, well above anyone else.
The following season, he topped 2600 runs for Somerset, although incredibly Graham Gooch - helped by that 333 for England at Lord's - outscored him over the whole summer. Amazingly, he upped the ante still further in 1991, aggregating 2,755 for Somerset, including 11 centuries. And still we couldn't win the blasted Championship! He wasn't simply a stolid run machine a la Boycott either. Those three years at Taunton also yielded more than 3000 one-day runs, and in 1990 Jimmy was outscored only by Desmond Haynes of Middlesex.
His Test record may have been dismal but he continued to make runs in domestic cricket for a few more years before embarking on a successful coaching career, apparently developing the young talent of another great Saffer opening bat, Graeme Smith. His legacy also lives on in son Stephen, whose 390 for the Lions three years ago remains the highest score in South African history. He had been in the stands to witness his dad's 313 for Somerset and now he and Jimmy stand tall as the only father and son triple-centurions.
That memorable 294 last year remains the closest Alastair Cook has been to a 'triple' but provided enough team mates can stay with him I bet he joins the club at some point, although I don't know if he'll ever produce a similarly successful offspring! He made his Essex debut against Notts in the 2003 Championship alongside a certain Andy Flower and now the duo have the job of taking England back to the top of world cricket. Like Barry Richards before him, Jimmy Cook was never to have the opportunity to achieve such feats but he was one of the greatest of Somerset's long list of overseas stars. If only he could have played alongside King Viv! Sigh....
