ESPNcricinfo staff05-Mar-2015However, Kyle Coetzer joined by Matt Machan extricated Scotland from the early losses and steadily rebuilt the innings with a 78-run stand•AFPCoetzer then switched to top gear as Scotland plundered 50 runs off the batting Powerplay•Getty ImagesAided by cameos from Preston Mommsen and Richie Berrington, Coetzer kicked on to record Scotland’s first World Cup century•Getty ImagesHe was finally dismissed for 156 in the 45th over, holing out to deep midwicket•Getty ImagesHowever, that did not prevent Scotland from scooting to 318 for 8•ICCSoumya Sarkar, who was bumped up to open in the absence of the injured Anamul Haque, fell in the second over of the chase•Getty ImagesTamim Iqbal, though, rattled along at a brisk rate to keep his side in the hunt•Getty ImagesHe added 139 with Mahmudullah – the highest partnership for Bangladesh in World Cups•Getty ImagesScotland then hit back, dismissing both the set batsmen. To make matters worse, Anamul was ruled out of batting after dislocating his shoulder while fielding•AFPMushfiqur Rahim, however, diffused the tension, making 60 off 42 balls•AFPThough he couldn’t stay till the end, Shakib Al Hasan brought his experience to the fore, clawing the equation down to 30 off 30 balls•AFPSabbir Rahman gave him good company as Bangladesh sealed their highest ODI chase with 11 balls to spare•Getty Images

Be it breaking a world record or refusing an offer to play for his country, Charles Coventry has always been one for making a statement. So what has the batsman been up to since leaving Zimbabwe’s structures in 2013?

Firdose Moonda12-May-2015Charles Coventry used to regard his bat the same way a writer does a keyboard. It was for making his statements.The most common statement was the lofted drive, his signature stoke introduced in 2002, when he topped Zimbabwe’s run charts at the Under-19 World Cup. The most powerful statement was a world record, blasted in August 2009, when he hit what was then the highest individual score in ODIs, 194 not out. The most defiant statement came five years later in 2014, when put the bat away and refused Zimbabwe Cricket’s offer to rejoin the national squad ahead of the World T20.Now Coventry has dusted the machine off and is ready to start typing again, in a different font.”There were times in the past when I just used to go out and swing at everything but I feel that now my game is more controlled. I actually feel I am batting better than I ever have,” Coventry told ESPNcricinfo.The proof does not lie in his recall to the national team after a four-year absence, because Coventry does not have domestic statistics to back up his return. He has not played in Zimbabwe’s structures since 2013. It lies in the more measured, mature outlook Coventry has on the game, which he learned through stints at club level.He has been part of a Dubai’s Wings SRT XI and Johannesburg’s Wanderers. With them, Coventry has been part of teams that have won the league. The former was a job, where Coventry played as an overseas professional, the latter a hobby while he set himself up as a resident in South Africa.Since January, Coventry has been coaching cricket at the King Edward VII Preparatory School, the junior school of King Edward High School, which produced players like Jimmy Cook, Neil McKenzie and Graeme Smith. Down the road, at St Johns, Stuart Matsikenyeri has a similar position. Matsikenyeri was recalled for the World Cup and Coventry made contact with Zimbabwe shortly after to discuss the possibility of a comeback to the highest level, albeit in limited capacity.”I can’t go back to Zimbabwe permanently because I have a full-time job but I jumped at the chance to be involved somehow, especially with 20-over cricket,” Coventry explained. It’s not very dissimilar to the many freelance T20 cricketers who play across various premier leagues, but are limited to one country. “My plan is to go up a few days beforehand when there is a series, train with the squad and play a few games. I also plan to play in the Zimbabwe domestic T20 competition.”The World T20 next year is in his sights, but only peripherally so. Instead, it’s just the opportunity to play some international cricket and contribute to a Zimbabwean set-up that is making strides towards recovery following years of stagnation and strife.Coventry doesn’t mind even if he is “just there doing throwdowns in the nets”•AFP”From guys I’ve spoken to, it sounds as though things are really moving in a positive direction. There’s a good bunch of players and a good environment with Alistair Campbell back, trying to make things better for the players,” Coventry said. “That’s great for Zimbabwean cricket because it has a lot to offer. It would be good to be part of that.”Coventry, like Chris Mpofu and Vusi Sibanda, is being called on to be part of that because Zimbabwe are adding experience to their ranks in the absence of Brendan Taylor. Coventry, however, does not see himself in the same league as the former captain.”A lot of the younger guys have played a lot more than me so I don’t think of myself as a senior player but one of the things I hope I can bring is to be a good team man with good team ethics. If I don’t play a game and I’m just there doing throwdowns in the nets, that’s also fine.”If he does take the field, Coventry has promised he will not just be brandishing the bat like the way he used to with a microphone, but will use it as an instrument to play a slightly different tune. “I’ve been training really hard and been working on some technical things – there used to be talk about how I approached the short ball and that’s something I’ve concentrated on,” he said”I am not going there to prove any point or to try and be the best player in the world or to chase statistics or anything like that. I don’t want to make a big thing of me making a comeback. I just want to be the best that I can be. If it doesn’t work out, that’s fine.”Another statement, but this time, a quiet one.

Stats highlight from the third day’s play of the first Test between Bangladesh and Pakistan in Khulna

Shiva Jayaraman30-Apr-20157 Scores of 200 or more made by Pakistan’s openers before Hafeez in this match. The last Pakistan opener to hit a double-hundred in Tests was Taufeeq Umar, who hit 236 against Sri Lanka in 2011. This was Hafeez’s first double-hundred in Tests.204* Pakistan’s previous highest individual score against Bangladesh in Tests, which was made by Mohammad Yousuf in Chittangong in 2002. Hafeez’s 224 is now the highest, and also only the third double-hundred by a Pakistan batsman against Bangladesh.642 Runs made by Hafeez in his last three Tests, which account for 22.42% of his total career runs. He has scores of 96, 101*, 197, 24 and 224 since the start of the series against New Zealand in November last year. In 38 Tests before that he had scored 2222 runs, including five hundreds and nine fifties. Hafeez’s batting average in Tests has made a steep climb to 40.33 from 33.16 in just his last three matches. This is the first time since 2007 that Hafeez’s Test batting average has reached 40.227 Partnership between Hafeez and Azhar Ali – Pakistan’s second highest for any wicket against Bangladesh in Tests, and the second double-hundred stand between the two batsmen. They had put on a 287-run stand against Sri Lanka in 2012.5 Fifty-plus scores by Pakistan’s top order (No. 1 to No. 7) in their innings – the third instance of them making five or more fifty-plus scores in six Tests since the start of the series against Australia last year. Before that, there were only 11 such instances in 382 Tests for Pakistan.1960 The last and the only time a team had a fifty-plus stand from each of it’s first-six wickets before Pakistan in this innings. Australia had one century and five fifty stands from their first six wickets against West Indies at the Gabba.2011 The last time before this Test that Pakistan made a total of 500-plus in the first innings of a Test after fielding first. This was also against Bangladesh in Chittagong, when they declared on a score of 594 for 5.4 Number of times Pakistan have taken a first-innings lead of 200 or more runs with five or more wickets to spare including this match. The first time Pakistan achieved this was against New Zealand in 1994 in Wellington. The other three instances have all come against Bangladesh.57 Runs scored off Shakib Al Hassan by Hafeez – the second-highest he has hit off a bowler in a Test innings. Hafeez had scored 65 runs off 106 deliveries off Rangana Herath in the first innings of a Test in Colombo in 2012, which are his highest off any bowler in an innings. Hafeez had a strike rate of 85.07 against Shakib in this innings.

As a technical advisor with Oman for the World T20 qualifier, former England cricketer Derek Pringle has been sharing tips with the side to get them to play smarter cricket

Peter Della Penna in Malahide23-Jul-2015A year ago, Derek Pringle might have expected to be sitting at Cardiff and Lord’s in the middle of July in his longtime role as the correspondent for the . But, in his own words, the former England Test player was “made redundant in the winter” and, as so often is the case, an opportunity curiously opened in the most unlikely of places.”One of my mates from Essex, John Stephenson who is head of cricket at the MCC, and Pankaj Khimji [director of Oman Cricket Club] approached me in February and said Oman have been to this stage of major competitions before and never proceeded any further,” Pringle told ESPNcricinfo ahead of Oman’s elimination clash against Namibia on Thursday at Malahide. “Can you help us out try and get to grips with British conditions, and I said sure.”So instead of giving his take on Ashes tussles, he was hired as a technical advisor for Oman at the World Twenty20 Qualifier in Ireland and Scotland. After going winless in the group stage in 2012 during their last trip to the qualifier in the UAE, Pringle has been along for the team’s ride and they are now one win away from reaching the World T20 after notching three unlikely wins in Scotland during the group stage.Pringle looks a bit sheepish when asked if he has been the magic ingredient for the team’s turnaround in fortunes between 2012 and now. Instead he says he’s offered a few tips to a group of some genuinely talented players who have been eager to listen.”I’ve offered suggestions and wanted them to play smarter cricket,” Pringle said. “T20 cricket is all about making the right decisions under pressure. It’s a game where you’ve got to get on with it and be aggressive. There’s aggression that’s controlled and there’s aggression that’s madness, and we want the former. I’ve spoken to them and sometimes they forget themselves but generally they’ve listened hard and tried to put things into practice.”Oman narrowly lost to Kenya by seven runs in their first match of the tournament, but bounced back against Canada by chasing 134 in 11.2 overs. They stunned Netherlands courtesy of a brilliant late-innings spell from Munis Ansari to set up a simple chase and then put in their best effort to date with a 40-run win over Afghanistan.”I must admit that I didn’t know much about Canada’s bowling but I said to Zeeshan Maqsood after that knock [86* against Canada] that I don’t think Chris Gayle could have played a better knock than that. He lost six balls in the river at Stirling. It was immense hitting and a fantastic knock that got us away in the competition. Munis Ansari is a bit of an unusual bowler like Lasith Malinga with a bit of a low arm but very controlled. He had a bad game against Scotland but generally he’s been very consistent.”In the game against Canada the batting fired, the game against Netherlands the bowling fired and in the game against Afghanistan, both aspects fired. So I’ve told them that’s the game we want to try and replicate. They used their brains there, batted well to get a competitive score, and then bowled and fielded like demons.”Pringle says though he was hired specifically as a technical advisor to assist the team in British conditions for this tournament, he would be open to any offer the team may put forward to keep him on board for the tournament in India should they qualify. Either way, he says despite not having “all of the [coaching] badges you need these days”, he is happy to pass his knowledge on.”It’s fresh ground for me but I always say to people it’s not rocket science. I might not have a computer program but I understand the game of cricket. I’ve enjoyed it thoroughly and it’s been an interesting experience.”

Was the England captain’s slump in form brought on by issues of technique or by a cluttered mind?

Aakash Chopra28-Jul-20153:14

A matter of the mind for Cook

It was a typically flat Adelaide pitch on which Australia batted first and posted a resounding 570 for 9. It was the second Test of the 2013-14 Ashes, and England’s captain, Alastair Cook, was expected to provide his team with a solid foundation when it was their turn to bat. After the meek surrender in the first Test, at the Gabba, it was imperative that England bounced back quickly.Besides, the 65 that Cook had scored in the second innings of the first Test was the highest individual score for an England batsman in the match, so effectively he was the only England batsman with some sort of form going into the second Test. He walked in with loads of expectations on his shoulders but had to walk back with only 3 on the board, after facing 11 balls. ESPNcricinfo’s ball-by-ball commentary says this about his dismissal:

2.4 Johnson to Cook, OUT, cleaned him up! Johnson on the charge again, beaten Cook for pace past the outside edge and Cook was nowhere near it. It might have straightened a fraction from an off stump line but Cook has simply been done for sheer pace at over 90mph, didn’t get forward enough, tried in vain to get the bat down on it but seem to be aiming at mid-on and missed it completely.

That delivery began a downward spiral in Cook’s batting form. Innings after innings he was found out with both feet inside the crease to full-pitched deliveries. He also went chasing after balls that he would otherwise have left alone.It was thought that Cook’s trigger movement was a major part of the problem, for he was moving into his crease before the ball was bowled, and that supposedly led to him being late on balls that were meant to be played off the front foot. Some experts thought the depth of the stride backwards was not the only problem: there was also the fact that he was on the move while the bowler was releasing the ball. It did make sense, for staying still in the stance at the time of release is essential to picking up the line and length correctly. All preparatory movements must start and finish before the bowler releases the ball; if that does not happen, you’re doomed.

Cook’s strength isn’t a watertight technique but his ability to concentrate for long periods, and that is all to do with the mind. When he is able to control his mind, he plays well

A lot has changed since then. After a reasonably long dry spell, Cook is back among the runs. So has he revisited his technique and changed something?Surprisingly, he hasn’t. During his trigger movement he is still going back and across, and he is still a little bit on the move when the bowler is releasing the ball. What has changed then? How is it that he can score runs against top-quality bowlers despite shortcomings that his downfall before? Are the bowlers not smart enough to bowl full or in the areas where he was found wanting 12 months ago? To understand Cook’s predicament, you must move beyond the obvious and take a closer look at the intangibles.Cook’s biggest strength isn’t a watertight technique but the ability to concentrate for long periods, and that is all to do with the mind. When he is playing well, he is able to control his mind – he doesn’t allow it to wander or get lured into false strokes. In other words, when he is able to control his mind, he plays well.Like all good, orthodox Test openers, he is a sceptic by nature. He views the red ball headed in his direction with a certain amount of suspicion. It might look like an innocuous straight ball but he sees it as a potential threat, for it might tail back in or go away before or after landing. He will not commit himself to a shot unless he is 100% certain that he knows everything about that particular ball that there is to know.Through the 2013-14 Ashes and the months that followed, the KP saga undeniably occupied prime space in Alastair Cook’s head•Anthony Devlin/PA PhotosGood batsmen make bowlers bowl in areas where they want them to. Players like David Warner who want bowlers to bowl short achieve that goal by going after everything that pitches fuller. So the bowlers are forced to play to the batsman’s strength.Cook, on the other hand, wants bowlers to bowl straight to him so that he can play his most productive shots – off his legs through the on side. To achieve that, he has to leave everything that is outside off and tire the bowler. If the batsman knows where his off stump is and has the patience to leave everything that does not require playing at, sooner or later the bowler errs in line and bowls straighter. This is something Cook was able to do against New Zealand and at Lord’s this Ashes. He has made quality bowlers like Mitchell Starc, Trent Boult and Mitchell Johnson bowl to his strengths.No doubt there was a lot on Cook’s mind during the 2013-14 Ashes and through the year that followed. Perhaps his slump had something to do with his technique, but my guess is it had more to do with the mind. Cook is not the kind of player to hit his way back into form. For him to score runs, he has to work hard, and for that to happen his mind needs to be emptied of unwanted thoughts.Now he is back in what we refer to as his “comfort zone”. He is comfortable with his trigger movement, he is picking the lines really well, and the mind is seemingly at peace again, isolated from his surroundings. The same 90mph bolt from Johnson that looked too fast in the Australian summer of 2013-14 is manageable in the English summer of 2015. While some may argue that Cook is getting more time to deal with these deliveries on slower English pitches, I say it wasn’t the quick Australian pitches that left him without enough time – it was his own cluttered mind.

Inspired by the film, the book of the same name looks at the rise of a West Indies team alongside the life of its immigrant people in Britain

Nicholas Hogg03-Oct-2015A gust of fine rain swept across The Oval, forcing the Northants batters and Surrey fielders to make a dash for the pavilion. It was the penultimate day of the English domestic season, the fag end of summer, when the cricket lover is already slipping hopelessly into nostalgia. Even the muted TV screen hanging from the roof was lamenting for seasons past, running one of those “Heroes of Yesteryear” type documentaries on Richard Hadlee. A few us watched, the sunny shots of his cantering approach to the crease, shirt sleeves rolled up, and the smooth action delivering the inevitable off-stump line and perfect length delivery.And when that highlights reel came to an end, I looked back across the damp outfield to the patch of sunlight beyond the rooftops of South London, and thought about the foreword to Simon Lister’s superb new book, . On the very first page Clive Lloyd recalls leaning on his bat at the non-striker’s end at The Oval “and inhaling the exuberant buzz that only a West Indian cricket crowd far from home can create”.Inspired by the film of the same title, Lister has expanded the narrative of West Indies cricket by using the footage not broadcast by director Stevan Riley and interviewing the fans, players and their families, to document a history that lays claim to be the “definitive story of the greatest team sport has ever known”.Spectators swarm Clive Lloyd after his century at The Oval, 1973•PA PhotosI might have been too young to appreciate the rambunctious West Indies supporters of the 1970s and ’80s, but through Lister’s interviews with those fans who turned the prosaic seats of The Oval into a Caribbean carnival, and his portraits of the early pioneers of West Indies cricket – Charles Ollivierre, George Headley, Learie Constantine, Frank Worrell and Garfield Sobers – readers can understand what Lloyd meant when he looked to the packed stands and questioned: “How could we not try and do our best?”Lister follows the West Indian exodus to Britain in the 1950s, highlighting the lack of a warm welcome for most of the new arrivals from the Caribbean. Many landed on damp shores to find their dreams of a better life living in cramped and cold rooms. A nonplussed public generally treated them with a contempt ranging from bemusement to verbal and physical abuse. Writing in his 1954 book , Constantine lamented that it was “hard to make it understood by white people how much we resent – and fear – this perpetual undercurrent of jeering, this ingrained belief in the white mind that the coloured man, woman or child is a matter for mirth”.From the 1950s onwards the number of Caribbean fans at West Indies games increased. Matches became a focal point for a community to identify with its roots. In the crowd, amid the music, food and language of a colony long abused by the Empire, was solidarity. On the first day of the Trent Bridge Test in 1976, Lister notes that the had the power.

Fire in Babylon: How the West Indies cricket team brought a people to its feet
by Simon Lister
Yellow Jersey
352 pages (hardback)

Former India coach John Wright remembers his professional relationship with Jagmohan Dalmiya, saying what a ‘tough’ and ‘fair’ boss he was

John Wright22-Sep-2015I am very sorry to hear about Mr Dalmiya’s passing away and as I look back at our time together when I was coach of India, he was probably the best boss I have worked for. He was a tough but fair boss. On the first day that I was in the job with India, Tony Greig said to me that Mr Dalmiya is a very powerful man in Indian cricket and it was ironic because he wasn’t even the president [of BCCI] then. I had been hired by Mr AC Muthiah. The next thing I heard when he came to power in 2001 were rumours that he wanted to sack me and [physiotherapist] Andrew [Leipus]. I met him for the first time when we went to Delhi for a long interview with him, two hours, in a hotel suite.At the end of it, I’ll never forget what he said to me. His exact words were, “I’ve heard a lot of things about you but you’re quite tough. I think we could work together.” He asked me to put a report together about what Indian cricket needed and I spent a lot of time on it. He always wanted you to report personally to him. I had to fly every month to see him and we got to know each other well over the next four years. A lot of people said a lot of things about Mr Dalmiya, but you take everyone for what you see and he was a great boss to work for.I remember early on while working together, we were on a tour of the West Indies. They were 400 something for 3 and Gautam Dasgupta, the manager, handed me the phone and said “it is the president.” We were sitting in the pavilion in Georgetown, Guyana and Mr Dalmiya came on the phone and said, “John, what is going on?” I can’t remember what I said, something like, “We have to do better, Mr President.”In those days I think failure wasn’t tolerated whether you were a captain or coach or even administrator, you needed to win, or things changed very quickly. There weren’t other types of cricket, it was just international cricket and the success of the Indian team was very, very important. Mr Dalmiya was a big part of that era and while he gave both Sourav [Ganguly] and me support, he was a staunch supporter of Sourav but he also wanted the results.The thing I loved about him as a boss was that he never interfered, but you knew very well where you stood with him. He didn’t interfere with me about how to coach, you just had to report and let him know what was going on. He was hands off in that respect and we gained a great friendship and respect for each other. It is why I say he is probably the best boss that I worked for, in terms of not telling you how to do your job, but telling you what was expected.During one of our meetings just before the team left for the 2003 World Cup, he wished me good luck and said, “if you don’t come first or second we might not be meeting again.”When we reached the final, I was re-employed, and to me that was okay, because we used to joke about it. We knew there was a lot at stake, that it was important that the team did well. He cared about the team very much and he cared about Indian cricket. But he was pragmatic enough to know that if things weren’t going well, then something would have to be done and it would probably start with the coach.We had that understanding that it was business and it was important for India and for the Indian cricket team. He understood that performance was important, that is wasn’t just about talking the good game, you had to get the results there. We would joke about it but it was real. He used to say, “well I might have to show you the door,” and I would say, “if things don’t go well, you will have to show me the door.”When I finished with India, he came over from Calcutta to attend a presentation in Delhi and he didn’t usually do that a lot, it was a nice gesture. We kept in touch irregularly over the last few years and I heard about his return to the top of the BCCI again and you would never underestimate him and his political ability in Indian cricketing circles.I had a lot of time for him, I enjoyed working for him because he was tough but he was fair. And he always did what he said.

Stats highlights from a day completely dominated by Australia’s batsmen

S Rajesh26-Dec-2015258 The second-wicket partnership between Joe Burns and Usman Khawaja, which is the third-highest for the second wicket at the MCG. The highest is 298, between Ian Chappell and Bill Lawry, also against West Indies, in 1968. The top five second-wicket stands here are all by Australia.14 Test hundreds for Australia’s top three batsmen (Nos. 1 to 3) in 2015, which equals their highest in any calendar year; they also got 14 centuries in 2003. Their aggregate of 4020 runs is the highest for Australia’s top three in any calendar year.5 Double-century partnerships against West Indies in the last two years, the most against any team during this period. The next-highest is four each against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.448 Runs scored by Usman Khawaja in four Test innings in 2015, at an average of 149.33. In 17 previous innings in Tests, he had only managed 377 runs at an average of 25.13.132.57 The average runs per wicket for Australia in this series so far, the highest for any team in any series with a minimum of 200 overs faced. In their last three home series against West Indies, Australia have averaged 54.71 runs per wicket, which is their second-highest against any opposition.25.12 David Warner’s Test average in eight innings at the MCG, with only one half-century – 62 against Sri Lanka in 2012. It’s his poorest average among all home venues. He averages more than 60 in Adelaide, Brisbane, Perth and Hobart, while his average is 32.85 in Sydney. Melbourne is the only home venue where he hasn’t scored a Test hundred.1000 International centuries for Australia, making them the first team to reach the landmark. England are next with 964 hundreds, followed by India with 688.73.11 Kemar Roach’s bowling average in Tests in 2015: in seven matches (including this one) he has taken nine wickets. In the three years before 2015 (from January 2012 to December 2014), he had taken 70 wickets in 15 Tests at 21.90.1.94 The economy rate for Jason Holder: in 17 overs he conceded only 33; on the other hand, Jerome Taylor and Roach conceded 136 runs in 28 overs, an economy rate of 4.86.

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Nov-2015Imrul Kayes then anchored the innings with an attacking 76 that included six fours and four sixes•AFPKayes was eventually dismissed off a full-toss from Sean Williams, leaving the score at 151 for 5 by the 32nd over•AFPNasir Hossain and Sabbir Rahman tried to give the side a strong finish but Bangladesh eventually ended at 241 for 9•Associated PressZimbabwe got off to a horror start with a top-order collapse that reduced them to 45 for 3 by the ninth over•AFPElton Chigumbura once again tried to revive Zimbabwe’s innings..•AFP..building a 73-run partnership with Sikandar Raza, after Zimbabwe lost Sean Williams and Craig Ervine•Associated PressChigumbura was dismissed for 47 in the 36th over and Zimbabwe were eventually bowled out for 183 in 44th over, as Bangladesh sealed their fifth successive bilateral series win with a 58-run victory•Associated Press

Amid growing concerns about the depth and quality of South Africa’s batting reserves, the time may be nigh for one of the country’s most consistent performers to earn a call-up

Firdose Moonda21-Dec-2015So sings Amos Hart, the good-hearted husband of Chicago’s Roxie, when he laments his own invisibility. Stephen Cook would relate. He is South African cricket’s own Mr Cellophane, who has been looked right through despite being among the top 10 run-scorers in the first-class competition for the last seven seasons including the last one, when he finally topped the charts only to find himself still on the outside.Now, with a four-Test series against England looming, and on a weekend in which most of South Africa’s national batsman failed to find form, the 33-year-old Cook carried his bat for an unbeaten 53 against the touring opposition. There is a growing sense that his time may finally have come.Cook’s Seven-Year Itch

Stephen Cook has been among the top ten run-scorers South Africa’s first-class competition for the last seven seasons. Here’s how he has done:

2008-09 behind Imraan Khan, Ashwell Prince, Alviro Petersen, Davy Jacobs, Rilee Rossouw, Andrew Puttick and Boeta Dippenaar.
2009-10 behind Rilee Rossouw and Dean Elgar.
2010-11 8behind Jacques Rudolph, Neil McKenzie, Farhaan Behardien, Zander de Bruyn, Andrew Puttick, Justin Ontong and Vaughn van Jaarsveld.
2011-12behind Alviro Petersen, Neil McKenzie, Morne van Wyk, Reeza Hendricks and JJ Smuts.
2012-13 behind Neil McKenzie, Stiaan van Zyl, Davy Jacobs, Quinton de Kock, Temba Bavuma, Vaughn van Jaarsveld and Alistair Gray.
2013-14 behind Stiaan van Zyl, Justin Ontong, David White, Morne van Wyk, Andrew Puttick and Temba Bavuma.
2014-15

“Stephen is a good player and of late, he has been scoring heavily and doing very well in the domestic set-up,” Andrew Hudson, the former convener of selectors, told ESPNcricinfo. “I don’t think he is too old and I think he has got a lot to offer but it’s up to the selectors to see whether they want to continue with a makeshift opener or whether they feel they need a specialist.”Hudson led the selection panel for five years from 2010 to 2015, a period which coincided with Cook’s performances, but, he added, picked Cook was always difficult because of personnel and circumstance. Cook’s playing days have coincided with those of Graeme Smith and Neil McKenzie, then with Jacques Rudolph and Alviro Petersen and more recently, with Dean Elgar, Stiaan van Zyl and Temba Bavuma.”When Alviro retired, we already had Dean Elgar and he had done pretty well so that continued and then we made the decision to push Stiaan, who had also done reasonably well on different wickets, up,” Hudson said. “It’s quite a subjective thing. Sometimes the selectors feel someone can make the step up.”Van Zyl, a regular No.3, was the leading run-scorer in the first-class game the season before Cook topped the charts but, because there was no space in South Africa’s middle-order, the only spot the selectors could find was at the top. So far, van Zyl has only opened in the subcontinent and, even though he appeared the most awkward on South Africa’s tour of India, he will be given another opportunity to show what he can do in home conditions against England.But Hudson has warned that they may be taking a risk given the quality of the bowlers they will be up against. “England have got a nice new-ball attack so it’s about whether you expose someone like Stiaan or Temba Bavuma to the new ball or whether you feel you need someone who has done the job for a long time,” Hudson said.A chorus of former players are opting for the latter. Adam Bacher, a former team-mate of Cook’s, told he sees Cook as a “the team’s response to Australia’s Chris Rogers,” and said he had never encountered a player with stronger mental strength than Cook. Meanwhile Boeta Dippenaar, a former Test player, impressed the need for “specialists” at the top. Barry Richards and Paul Harris have also been among those calling for Cook’s inclusion.The swathe of support for Cook became stronger during the tour match against the England XI, when his half-century also brought up his 11,000th first-class run. In the same match, Rilee Rossouw, the current reserve batsmen in the Test squad, scored just 6 and Dane Vilas and Quinton de Kock, who are on the fringes, each scored 4. Given the shakiness of South Africa’s current middle-order and the seeming uncertainty about the depth of quality in the reserves, Cook could offer the steadiness South Africa currently lack.Hudson admitted the scarcity of strong performances in the last two months is a concern ahead of a series in which South Africa could be toppled from their No.1 Test spot.”I am not worried about individuals but I am worried about the batting unit,” he said. “With the middle-order not being as settled as South Africa might like, the opening partnership becomes even more important. I think we will really have to pay attention to our batting if we are do well in this series.”And that may mean finally paying attention to Cook before it’s too late and he ends up fading away to these words: