Alastair Cook youngest to score 9,000 Test runs, overtakes Sachin Tendulkar by 94 days

England’s Alastair Cook during the 2^nd Test match against New Zealand

England may have lost the second Test match to New Zealand in Leeds, but it was a historic Test match for England’s captain Alastair Cook and fast bowler James Anderson. Alastair Cook became the youngest Test player to reach 9,000 runs, by making 56 runs on the last day of the match.

Cook achieved this milestone at 30 years and 159 days, beating Indian maestro Sachin Tendulkar, who reached the same mark at 30 years and 253 days, marking the occasion with a cut stroke through extra cover for four from off spinner Mark Craig.

Cook is also the only cricketer in history who has completed such a feat within a 10-year span. Former India captain Rahul Dravid managed to score 9000 runs in 10 years and 9 days. Cook also becomes the second highest run scorer in the list of current Test players after Kumar Sangakkara.

Apart from the numerous England records that Cook now holds, his name currently stands at number 13 on the all-time list of run scorers, just behind South Africa’s Graeme Smith who has 9265 runs.

Cook’s having faced 739 balls in the New Zealand Test series is the highest by any England batsman in a 2-Test series. He has scores of 16, 162, 75 and 56 to show from the concluded series.