ALASTAIR COOK clipped the ball efficiently off his legs and it rolled across the outfield before trickling into the boundary.
The bowler was Sri Lanka’s Nuwan Pradeep and it was witnessed by 2,579 spectators at Chester-le-Street.
The crowd, such as it was, rose for a standing ovation and Cook lifted his bat self-effacingly. Sporting history has rarely been achieved with such understatement.
There would be no scorching boundary, full house at Lord’s or leaping celebration. Yet perhaps that is appropriate. What could be better than an understated moment for an understated man?
Cook has never sought the spotlight but, for more than ten years, he has gone about his business of scoring runs for England with a single-minded determination matched by few batsmen.
And, make no mistake, it is a remarkable achievement.
Just think about it — 10,000 RUNS. Ten grand. Ten large ones. That’s a lot of notches in anyone’s language.
To become the first England batsman to reach 10k in Test cricket and, at 31 years and 157 days, the youngest from any country adds to the glory.
Cook could finish with approaching 15,000 runs. He has already advanced his total to 10,042 by scoring 47 not out as England won the Second Test by nine wickets, taking an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the series.
In fact, the team victory probably gave more satisfaction to Cook than any individual achievement.
He is an opening batsman, too, and has to face the new ball and bowler at their freshest. India’s Sunil Gavaskar is the only other opener to get to five figures.
Cook’s landmark is a tribute to his skill, determination, longevity, avoidance of injury and making the most of his ability. He is a mighty fine player — but probably just short of being an all-time great.
Opponents respect Cook but they are not scared of him.
Since Viv Richards retired, the all-time great batsmen include Brian Lara, Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting, Jacques Kallis and Kumar Sangakkara.
Cook belongs to the next level, alongside players such as Graeme Smith, Mahela Jayawardene, Shiv Chanderpaul and Matthew Hayden.
He has made three centuries in away series in Australia and India and few batsmen have ever cut and pulled with more certainty.
Cook also overtook Mike Atherton’s 3,815 runs as skipper to became England’s top scoring Test captain.
He said: “The 10,000 has been a milestone that has driven me over the last few years. You get tested at the top of the order in all conditions and I’m glad I have hung around and not been dropped.
“I’ve always played the short ball well against the faster bowler in Test cricket, so that gives you a basic chance. And I think I’ve managed to handle the external stuff as well.
“I don’t know how many runs I can get. I’ll have to set myself a new target and tuck it away somewhere. That’s what drives me.”
After their much-improved efforts on day three, Sri Lanka again showed resistance and England were forced to wait until 4.40pm to complete their win — when Nick Compton pulled back-to-back boundaries.
At the start of the day, Milinda Siriwardana was soon caught in the gully but Dinesh Chandimal and Rangana Herath put on 116 for the seventh wicket.
They made sure England would have to bat again but the hosts might have won by an innings if Jonny Bairstow had not spilled a straightforward chance off James Anderson via the inside edge when Chandimal had scored 69.
Herath was dropped on 46 when James Vince misjudged a skier at square leg. The little left-arm spinner was finally lbw to Anderson — the Lancashire swinger’s 450th Test wicket — and he finished with 8-94 to follow his 10-45 at Headingley.
Shaminda Eranga was bowled and Chandimal missed a Broad leg-cutter and departed for a superb 126.
Suranga Lakmal was last man out and Sri Lanka’s 475 all out left England needing 78 to win, which they achieved with Alex Hales as the only casualty.
England have named an unchanged squad for next week’s Third Test at Lord’s, so that means under-pressure Compton and Steven Finn have been given another chance.
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