Yawning Alastair Cook content after unbeaten century in inaugural day/night Test

18 August 2017 12:09

Alastair Cook made light work of the pink ball on England's inaugural taste of day/night Test cricket but admitted to fighting off the yawns at Edgbaston.

England went under the bulbs for the first time in their Investec Series opener against West Indies and took an instant shine to their new circumstances as Cook (153 not out) and Root (136) made hay against a modest attack.

On a day of much change Cook was a familiar and reassuring bulwark for his side, walking off unbeaten at 9.30pm with the scoreboard reading at 348 for three.

Like many of the spectators who remained until the belated close of play, he declared himself tired but content after a historic day.

"I was yawning at 9pm because it was past my bedtime," said the 32-year-old after registering his 31st Test hundred.

"It was slightly unusual because you're programmed to play in white kit starting at 11am with a red ball, it's what we've done for all our careers. Suddenly changing it takes a little bit of time.

"It's just a mental thing. I think if you get 150 and you're not out at the end of day you enjoy it. The crowd enjoyed it and it was a good day for England."

As well as carving out his own top score of the summer, Cook had a front row seat as Root made Test hundred number 13 and set a new national record of passing fifty in 11 consecutive matches.

Root has not been short of praise or garlands in his career to date, but Cook's estimation that he is the best batsman he has shared a dressing room with takes some beating.

"He kind of makes it look quite easy. Frustratingly easy," said the senior man.

"It's incredible he manages to score like he does. If he's not the best England player I've played with he's right up there.I think he is.

"His game is phenomenal and he's just churning out runs. He's just phenomenally consistent against world-class bowlers around the world. Genius. Unbelievable player."

Cook, who made 193 for Essex in the round of day/night county matches in June, unsurprisingly found little alarming about the much-debated pink Dukes.

He did, though, warn against any firm conclusions at such an early stage of what remains an experimental process, adding: "I thought it was a pretty good ball, it swung this morning, it offered a little later in the day and the new hard ball swung. If that was a red ball with clear skies at Edgbaston on a good wicket you'd be looking for a good score too.

"We won't know about the pink ball until two or three years down the line.

"I can't see it not being a success in other parts of the world, whether we need to do it in England is a different matter. We have the trouble that it's not that dark until the last hour and doesn't actually feel like a day/nighter until the last hour.

"In other parts of the world where you basically get a session and a half of dark cricket the atmosphere is brilliant."

On the pink ball, which some viewers said they found difficult to see on television, Root told Sky Sports: "(The vision) stayed consistent throughout, obviously I wasn't in first up, but I generally found the older it got the easier it was to see.

"I thought the guys at the back end there. in other Tests around the world that seemed to be the danger period and I thought we coped with that very well. It wasn't the fact it did huge amounts, it wasn't very consistent, you'd get balls that didn't move very much at all and then you'd get one that had more shape.

"There was a bit there and if you bowled in good areas it kept you honest."

Source: PA