SOUTHAMPTON, England // The England captain Alastair Cook spoke openly of his relief, despite falling agonisingly short of his first century in over a year, as he finally made a positive contribution with the bat on the opening day of the third Test against India.
Cook, 29, looked set to take his Test tally to 26 hundreds – 14 months and 28 innings after getting his 25th – but Ravindra Jadeja spoiled the party by dismissing him, caught-behind down leg-side, on 95.
“If you’d have offered me that at the beginning of the day, of course I’d have taken it,” Cook told Sky Sports.
“I’m disappointed because it adds to the innings without a hundred, but I’ve batted OK and it’s nice to finally contribute.”
Cook and Sam Robson (26) started the day with their first half-century opening stand together, at the eighth attempt, before the England captain’s second-wicket partnership of 158 with Gary Ballance (104 not out) powered England into a strong position.
The hosts finished the day on 247 for two, with Ballance and Ian Bell (16) at the crease, ready to go again today. Cook, meanwhile, can reflect on a job well done as he finally managed to answer his critics.
“I can’t tell you how much I wanted to score a hundred,” he said. “The support I’ve had throughout this period, which I’m not through yet, but it’s a little step in the right direction, has been great. When you haven’t scored runs for a long time, it’s only natural to be nervous and only natural to want it even more.”
The England captain’s performance took him past Kevin Pietersen and David Gower, and into third place on the country’s list of all-time Test runscorers, but Cook insisted that was not as important as simply getting back among the runs.
“Honestly, it was nothing to do with that today,” he said. “I did see it at tea, but I was just desperate to score runs.
“It’s been a long time since I was able to do it and contribute to the England team, and that’s what has hurt me more than anything.
“When you don’t score runs, you sit back in the dressing room and you watch people do that and you try to talk about it, you try to lead from it, but when you don’t feel you’re doing anything personally, that’s a hard place to be.
“At least, tonight I can feel I contributed to that.”
As well as solving his own problems with the bat, Cook has also been under intense pressure to arrest a run of seven defeats in nine matches for England.
That run prompted a host of former players to call for Cook, who hit nine fours in his 95 on Sunday, to resign the captaincy.
Pietersen joined those calling for Cook to step down in his Daily Telegraph column on Saturday, but he tweeted a congratulatory message as he watched Cook’s progress on Sunday.
He said: “Under the amount of pressure Cook was under, that was quite brilliant! Really happy he got runs. Well done, AC #95”
With three days left, Cook knows his side have a good chance of levelling the series and wants to see them build upon what he started.
“We’re in a good position after Day 1,” he said.
“There are lot of miles in their legs, but tomorrow we’ll have to earn the right again and hopefully accelerate later and put some damage on the ball.”
WORLD RECORD FEES FOR GOALKEEPERS
1) Kepa Arrizabalaga, Athletic Bilbao to Chelsea (£72m)
2) Alisson, Roma to Liverpool (£67m)
3) Ederson, Benfica to Manchester City (£35m)
4) Gianluigi Buffon, Parma to Juventus (£33m)
5) Angelo Peruzzi, Inter Milan to Lazio (£15.7m
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Business Insights
- Canada and Mexico are significant energy suppliers to the US, providing the majority of oil and natural gas imports
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League, Group B
Barcelona v Inter Milan
Camp Nou, Barcelona
Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
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The specs
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Power: 480kW
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Transmission: Single-speed automatic
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Farasan Boat: 128km Away from Anchorage
Director: Mowaffaq Alobaid
Stars: Abdulaziz Almadhi, Mohammed Al Akkasi, Ali Al Suhaibani
Rating: 4/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
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How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
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Results
1. New Zealand Daniel Meech – Fine (name of horse), Richard Gardner – Calisto, Bruce Goodin - Backatorps Danny V, Samantha McIntosh – Check In. Team total First round: 200.22; Second round: 201.75 – Penalties 12 (jump-off 40.16 seconds) Prize €64,000
2. Ireland Cameron Hanley – Aiyetoro, David Simpson – Keoki, Paul Kennedy – Cartown Danger Mouse, Shane Breen – Laith. Team total 200.25/202.84 – P 12 (jump-off 51.79 – P17) Prize €40,000
3. Italy Luca Maria Moneta – Connery, Luca Coata – Crandessa, Simone Coata – Dardonge, Natale Chiaudani – Almero. Team total 130.82/198.-4 – P20. Prize €32,000
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City's slump
L - Juventus, 2-0
D - C Palace, 2-2
W - N Forest, 3-0
L - Liverpool, 2-0
D - Feyenoord, 3-3
L - Tottenham, 4-0
L - Brighton, 2-1
L - Sporting, 4-1
L - Bournemouth, 2-1
L - Tottenham, 2-1
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RESULTS
Bantamweight: Victor Nunes (BRA) beat Azizbek Satibaldiev (KYG). Round 1 KO
Featherweight: Izzeddin Farhan (JOR) beat Ozodbek Azimov (UZB). Round 1 rear naked choke
Middleweight: Zaakir Badat (RSA) beat Ercin Sirin (TUR). Round 1 triangle choke
Featherweight: Ali Alqaisi (JOR) beat Furkatbek Yokubov (UZB). Round 1 TKO
Featherweight: Abu Muslim Alikhanov (RUS) beat Atabek Abdimitalipov (KYG). Unanimous decision
Catchweight 74kg: Mirafzal Akhtamov (UZB) beat Marcos Costa (BRA). Split decision
Welterweight: Andre Fialho (POR) beat Sang Hoon-yu (KOR). Round 1 TKO
Lightweight: John Mitchell (IRE) beat Arbi Emiev (RUS). Round 2 RSC (deep cuts)
Middleweight: Gianni Melillo (ITA) beat Mohammed Karaki (LEB)
Welterweight: Handesson Ferreira (BRA) beat Amiran Gogoladze (GEO). Unanimous decision
Flyweight (Female): Carolina Jimenez (VEN) beat Lucrezia Ria (ITA), Round 1 rear naked choke
Welterweight: Daniel Skibinski (POL) beat Acoidan Duque (ESP). Round 3 TKO
Lightweight: Martun Mezhlumyan (ARM) beat Attila Korkmaz (TUR). Unanimous decision
Bantamweight: Ray Borg (USA) beat Jesse Arnett (CAN). Unanimous decision
The Cairo Statement
1: Commit to countering all types of terrorism and extremism in all their manifestations
2: Denounce violence and the rhetoric of hatred
3: Adhere to the full compliance with the Riyadh accord of 2014 and the subsequent meeting and executive procedures approved in 2014 by the GCC
4: Comply with all recommendations of the Summit between the US and Muslim countries held in May 2017 in Saudi Arabia.
5: Refrain from interfering in the internal affairs of countries and of supporting rogue entities.
6: Carry out the responsibility of all the countries with the international community to counter all manifestations of extremism and terrorism that threaten international peace and security
