As Liverpool fans, last night’s Champions League Final was a particularly enjoyable spectacle as the maestros of Barcelona delivered a stunning master-class. There was an absolute chasm between the sides and in truth it was men against boys.
Alastair Cook and Jonathan Trott may not bat with the flair and panache that the likes of Messi, Iniesta and Xavi exhibit with the ball at their feet, but they were just as dominant yesterday: the third day’s play at Cardiff also saw an exhibition of men against boys.
England’s number two and three are both in the midst of phenomenal runs. It seems unthinkable that many were calling for Cook’s head last summer when he struggled badly against Pakistan. But since what was billed as a career saving hundred at The Oval in the Third Test of that series, Cook has morphed into Jack Hobbs. He now has five hundreds and over 1,000 runs in his last ten Test innings.
Trott’s golden run stretches back further to the start of last summer when many thought he was only keeping the number three spot warm for Bell or Pietersen and could even be replaced in the XI for the Ashes by Eoin Morgan. 18 innings later and the small matter of over 1,200 runs with five hundreds, Trott has the second highest batting average ever in Test history (for batsmen with over 20 Test innings) – overnight it stands at a staggering 66.34.
Cook and Trott like batting together too. From a 116 partnership in the aforementioned Oval Test last summer to the unforgettable 329 stand at The Gabba, 173 at Adelaide and now 240 in this Test. And who would bet against them extending their union past 300 when play resumes this morning?
Dominance may present itself in different forms, but even if Cook and Trott are not as easy on the eye as the footballing geniuses of Barcelona, they are certainly every bit as effective.
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