bydesign77
Active Member
Reminds me of a show from SportsNight. From the AP wire:
Collingwood and Cook put on double-hundred stand against Pakistan
Eds: UPDATES with quotes
By ROB MURRAY
AP Sports Writer
LONDON (AP) - Paul Collingwood and Alastair Cook each hit centuries in a record-breaking, double-hundred partnership against Pakistan on the opening day of the first test at Lord's on Thursday.
The pair compiled 221 in an unbroken, fourth-wicket stand that took England to 309-3 at stumps.
Collingwood's 109 off 189 balls had 12 fours, while Cook's 262-ball innings of 101 contained 9 fours.
Collingwood's ton came one delivery after the pair broke England's record of 188 for the fourth wicket against Pakistan, previously set by Ted Dexter and Peter Parfitt in Karachi in 1962.
"We kept each other going and it was obviously a great partnership," Collingwood said.
Cook's second century in six tests took more than 5 hours and came with six balls left in the day's play.
The 21-year-old No. 3 rode his luck _ being dropped three times and occasionally edging to vacant slip areas _ while Collingwood was put down on 79 by wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal.
Imran Farhart dropped Cook before he'd scored and again on 81. The slipsman also failed to hold a more difficult two-handed diving effort off captain Andrew Strauss.
"It's a great moment to get a hundred at Lord's and one I'll never forget," Cook said. "I should've been caught on 0 and a few other times _ but that's cricket. When luck falls you've just got to cash in and make the most of it."
Playing in just his 12th test, the 30-year-old Collingwood carried on the form he showed on the tour of Pakistan and India, where he only played because Marcus Trescothick and Michael Vaughan were out.
There, he hit 96 and 80 in the third test against Pakistan, and then compiled 272 runs _ including a career-high 134 _ to average 68 in the three-test series versus India. Cook had hit 104 not out on his debut in the first test in India.
Strauss, who became England's 77th test captain with Vaughan and Flintoff out injured, had won the toss and elected to bat on a firm pitch under overcast skies.
But allrounder Abdul Razzaq soon claimed the wickets of Strauss and No. 4 Kevin Pietersen _ with Gul dismissing Trescothick _ to leave England stuttering at 88-3.
Trescothick had withstood an appeal for caught behind when a delivery from Gul brushed his shirt, but two balls later he fended at a ball and was caught by Akmal for 16.
Six balls later with no runs added, Razzaq rapped Strauss (30) on the pads and umpire Simon Taufel adjudged him leg-before-wicket with England 60-2. He had hit five fours in 44 balls.
It could have been 60-3, but Farhart dived in front of captain Inzamam-ul-Haq at first slip to put down Cook off Gul. A watchful Pietersen hit two straight drives off Razzaq and Sami, but then didn't play a shot to a rising off-cutter from Razzaq and was out lbw for 21 off as many balls.
The decision by Taufel looked harsh as the No. 4 batsman was hit outside the line of off-stump and the ball also looked to be going over the top.
Cook and Collingwood negotiated a tricky period to go to lunch at 118-3 before asserting control thereafter.
"If we can go and get some more runs tomorrow and get a big first-innings total and put some scoreboard pressure on them, then hopefully (we can) get them out," said Cook. "But there's a long way to go. It's one good day out of five; hopefully we can have two or three more."
The flat trajectory and relatively fast pace of Danish Kaneria held few dangers for either batsman, while the line and length of Gul and Sami was too varied to maintain pressure. Razzaq, who had 2-32 from 8 overs in the first session, didn't bowl again until 26 overs after lunch. He was the pick with 2-60 off 17 overs.
Swing bowler Matthew Hoggard passed a fitness test on his injured hand Thursday morning to make the England team, while Pakistan went in without Mohammad Asif after his injured elbow failed to heal.
England hasn't beaten Pakistan in a series at home since 1982. There are three more tests to play.
Collingwood and Cook put on double-hundred stand against Pakistan
Eds: UPDATES with quotes
By ROB MURRAY
AP Sports Writer
LONDON (AP) - Paul Collingwood and Alastair Cook each hit centuries in a record-breaking, double-hundred partnership against Pakistan on the opening day of the first test at Lord's on Thursday.
The pair compiled 221 in an unbroken, fourth-wicket stand that took England to 309-3 at stumps.
Collingwood's 109 off 189 balls had 12 fours, while Cook's 262-ball innings of 101 contained 9 fours.
Collingwood's ton came one delivery after the pair broke England's record of 188 for the fourth wicket against Pakistan, previously set by Ted Dexter and Peter Parfitt in Karachi in 1962.
"We kept each other going and it was obviously a great partnership," Collingwood said.
Cook's second century in six tests took more than 5 hours and came with six balls left in the day's play.
The 21-year-old No. 3 rode his luck _ being dropped three times and occasionally edging to vacant slip areas _ while Collingwood was put down on 79 by wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal.
Imran Farhart dropped Cook before he'd scored and again on 81. The slipsman also failed to hold a more difficult two-handed diving effort off captain Andrew Strauss.
"It's a great moment to get a hundred at Lord's and one I'll never forget," Cook said. "I should've been caught on 0 and a few other times _ but that's cricket. When luck falls you've just got to cash in and make the most of it."
Playing in just his 12th test, the 30-year-old Collingwood carried on the form he showed on the tour of Pakistan and India, where he only played because Marcus Trescothick and Michael Vaughan were out.
There, he hit 96 and 80 in the third test against Pakistan, and then compiled 272 runs _ including a career-high 134 _ to average 68 in the three-test series versus India. Cook had hit 104 not out on his debut in the first test in India.
Strauss, who became England's 77th test captain with Vaughan and Flintoff out injured, had won the toss and elected to bat on a firm pitch under overcast skies.
But allrounder Abdul Razzaq soon claimed the wickets of Strauss and No. 4 Kevin Pietersen _ with Gul dismissing Trescothick _ to leave England stuttering at 88-3.
Trescothick had withstood an appeal for caught behind when a delivery from Gul brushed his shirt, but two balls later he fended at a ball and was caught by Akmal for 16.
Six balls later with no runs added, Razzaq rapped Strauss (30) on the pads and umpire Simon Taufel adjudged him leg-before-wicket with England 60-2. He had hit five fours in 44 balls.
It could have been 60-3, but Farhart dived in front of captain Inzamam-ul-Haq at first slip to put down Cook off Gul. A watchful Pietersen hit two straight drives off Razzaq and Sami, but then didn't play a shot to a rising off-cutter from Razzaq and was out lbw for 21 off as many balls.
The decision by Taufel looked harsh as the No. 4 batsman was hit outside the line of off-stump and the ball also looked to be going over the top.
Cook and Collingwood negotiated a tricky period to go to lunch at 118-3 before asserting control thereafter.
"If we can go and get some more runs tomorrow and get a big first-innings total and put some scoreboard pressure on them, then hopefully (we can) get them out," said Cook. "But there's a long way to go. It's one good day out of five; hopefully we can have two or three more."
The flat trajectory and relatively fast pace of Danish Kaneria held few dangers for either batsman, while the line and length of Gul and Sami was too varied to maintain pressure. Razzaq, who had 2-32 from 8 overs in the first session, didn't bowl again until 26 overs after lunch. He was the pick with 2-60 off 17 overs.
Swing bowler Matthew Hoggard passed a fitness test on his injured hand Thursday morning to make the England team, while Pakistan went in without Mohammad Asif after his injured elbow failed to heal.
England hasn't beaten Pakistan in a series at home since 1982. There are three more tests to play.
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