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 Cook thanks teammates after marathon knock
    Stuart Hess
    October 27 2009 at 11:20AM 		Get IOL on your
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"It's beyond what I thought I could physically do," Highveld Lions opener Stephen Cook said of his monumental innings of 390 against an attack comprising some of South Africa's leading bowling talents in East London at the weekend.

Records fell like tenpins over the course of Cook's nearly 14-hour vigil against a Warriors attack comprising Makhaya Ntini, Lonwabo Tsotsobe and Johan Botha.

"It's definitely not settled in my mind what I've achieved," Cook said before departing East London yesterday.

"I mean, when you looked at it at the start of our innings, we were so far behind, and even as I went on, it didn't look like (the deficit) was getting less," Cook said of the Lions innings that started with them chasing the Warriors' first innings of 532.
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"I knew if I got out, there might be a chance of us having to follow on."

Cook's 13hr 58min stay at the crease is the fourth longest in the history of the game, while his final score of 390 (he was eventually out lbw to Botha), as well as being the highest first-class score by a South African batsmen, is also the 12th highest of all time.

"I was just ticking it off as I went along. At 250, I thought I could go on to 300, then I thought about passing my old man's score, then Daryll's (Cullinan's) record," Cook added.

His father Jimmy Cook, who opened the innings as part of the then-Transvaal "Mean Machine", also passed 300, making 313 for Somerset in 1990.

The pair are the first father-and-son combination to score triple centuries in first-class cricket.

Cullinan had previously held the South African record with his 337 for Transvaal against Northern Transvaal at the Wanderers in the 1993/94 season.

"I must give a lot of credit to my teammates. They were just outstanding, especially Neil (McKenzie) and Thami (Tsolekile), who I shared the longest partnerships with. They just kept me going," Cook said of stands of 162 for the third wicket with Lions skipper McKenzie and the 365-run stand for the sixth wicket he shared with Tsolekile, also a new record for that particular wicket.

"Every time I felt a little tired or wanted to play a big shot, they just kept reminding me to maintain my focus. Neil mentioned that opportunities like this, to bat on such a good surface, don't come around that often and that I must take it. I thought about all those times on green tracks or when there's been a dodgy lbw decision and did that."

Cook and Lions coach Dave Nosworthy agreed that the innings was further enhanced because of the quality of attack it came against.

"They have guys there with international experience," said Nosworthy.

"It was a brilliant performance. Just looking up at that scoreboard afterwards and seeing that score, it's just unbelievable. There is no-one who deserves it more, though. Stephen works incredibly hard and is one of the fittest players in our team."

Cook said his concentration was helped by the fact that he was up against such a high quality attack.

"Makhaya, Lonwabo, Rusty Theron ... they are all very good bowlers, and you could get your head knocked off if you're not concentrating. Mentally, that kind of thing keeps you on your feet."

Father Jimmy called on Sunday night to congratulate him. "Yeah, he is very proud. We spent quite a long time chatting.

"I slept very well afterwards; the legs are a bit weary, but I'll be ready for our next match," Cook insisted.

That next match is tomorrow, the opening game of the new MTN40 one-day competition against the Cape Cobras at the Wanderers (4.30pm).



Highest scores in first-class cricket in South Africa

Score Name For Against Venue Season

390 SC Cook Lions Warriors East London 2009/10

337* DJ Cullinan Transvaal Northern Transvaal Johannesburg 1993/94

307* TN Lazard Boland Western Province Worcester 1993/94

306* EAB Rowan Transvaal Natal Johannesburg 1939/40

304* AW Nourse Natal Transvaal Johannesburg 1919/20

300 DCS Compton England North-Eastern Transvaal Benoni 1948/49

Highest scores in all first-class cricket

Score Name For Against Venue Season

501* BC Lara Warwickshire Durham Birmingham 1994

499 Hanif Mohammad Karachi Bahawalpur Karachi 1958/59

452* DG Bradman New South Wales Queensland Sydney 1929/30

443* BB Nimbalkar Maharashtra Kathiawar Pune 1948/49

437 WH Ponsford Victoria Queensland Melbourne 1927/28

429 WH Ponsford Victoria Tasmania Melbourne 1922/23

428 Aftab Baloch Sind Baluchistan Karachi 1973/74

424 AC MacLaren Lancashire Somerset Taunton 1895

405* GA Hick Worcestershire Somerset Taunton 1988

400* BC Lara West Indies England St John's 2003/04

394 Naved Latif Sargodha Gujranwala Gujranwala 2000/01

390 SC Cook Lions Warriors East London 2009/10

Longest innings in all first-class cricket

Mins Score Name For Against Venue Season

1015 271 R Nayyar Himachal Pradesh Jammu and Kashmir Chamba 1999/00

970 337 Hanif Mohammad Pakistan West Indies Bridgetown 1957/58

878 275 G Kirsten South Africa England Durban 1999/00

838 390 SC Cook Lions Warriors East London 2009/10

821178* SS Shukla Uttar Pradesh Tamil Nadu Nagpur 2008/09

799 340 ST Jayasuriya Sri Lanka India Colombo-RPS 1997/98

797 364 L Hutton England Australia The Oval 1938

796 168* SH Kotak Saurashtra Mumbai Mumbai 2007/08

785 297 Bhupinder Singh Punjab Delhi Delhi 1994/95

782 221 M Burns Somerset Yorkshire Bath 2001

    • This article was originally published on page 23 of The Star on October 27, 2009
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