导出博客文章PITTSBURGH -- Music was blaring in the Pittsburgh Pirates clubhouse late
Wednesday night.Thats not all that unusual, but it seemed just a little louder
than normal, and the players seemed more upbeat.Thats because they not only
avoided a sweep by St. Louis, but also ended an eight-game losing streak with a
4-3 victory against the Cardinals.That will allow the Pirates to go into a
four-game home series against the Cincinnati Reds starting Thursday without that
skid hanging over them.Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle preaches the
day-at-a-time approach as much as anyone, but seemed as relieved as
anyone.Absolutely, he said, smiling. You play to win. You want to play well, and
you have a process we follow (but) winnings better than losing. Ive figured that
much out.Hurdle is one win shy of becoming the sixth Pirates manager in history
to reach 500 wins with the club.For the first time in several days, the Pirates
are in a better spot then their opponent. Pittsburgh (68-69) can get back to
.500 with a strong weekend and still has a shot at the postseason, trailing St.
Louis -- which holds the second wild-card spot -- by 4 1/2 games.Cincinnati has
lost four in a row and eight of 10 and is playing out the season.The Reds on
Wednesday lost at home 6-3 to New York, giving the Mets a three-game sweep.
Cincinnati is 57-81 but has played Pittsburgh close. The Pirates hold a 6-5 edge
in 11 meetings and outscored the Reds by only 40-39.Cincinnati made three outs
on the bases early and missed a lot of opportunities Wednesday against the Mets.
Manager Bryan Price describes that as atypical, even for his underachieving
club.In fact, Price guaranteed better performances at PNC Park.When youre (this)
far under .500, to have regular games like this as a regular part of what were
doing would make it a way more challenging season than it already is, Price told
MLB.com. Guys, for the most part, have really played hard and played relatively
to their ability and sometimes beyond. (Wednesday) will be something we dont see
for a long time. Im confident in that. This isnt our typical game by any means.
We will certainly play better in Pittsburgh.The Reds had runners on base in
every inning Wednesday but stranded 12, going 3-for-13 with runners in scoring
position.Its a tough series, but hopefully we get back on track against
Pittsburgh and try to finish the season strong, Anthony DeSclafani, who took the
loss Wednesday, told MLB.com.Right-hander Dan Straily (11-7, 3.83 ERA) is
scheduled to start Thursday for Cincinnati. Hes already made a career-high 29
appearances and makes his career-high 28th start. He is 2-1 with a 3.23 ERA in
seven appearances (four starts) against Pittsburgh.The Pirates counter with
right-hander Ivan Nova (11-6, 4.34).Nova is 4-0 with a 2.89 ERA in his first six
starts since Pittsburgh acquired him from the Yankees on Aug. 1. He allowed two
runs in six innings in a no-decision Saturday against Milwaukee in his last
start.
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Cook walked out for the toss in Chittagong on October 20, 2016, he became
Englands most capped Test player. At the time of writing, he holds every England
Test batting record worth holding. He has made more Test runs, more Test
hundreds, more Test fifties and played in more Test wins (and scored more runs
in Test wins) than any other England cricketer in history.He has captained
England in 54 Tests, a record he currently shares with Mike Atherton. Since
World War II, only Joe Root, Denis Compton, Ken Barrington and Len Hutton have
improved on Cooks career Test average of 47.Cooks Test average matches that of
Kevin Pietersen, Ted Dexter, Peter May, Dennis Amiss and Geoff Boycott. No other
England player since the war averages better than 45 runs per dismissal. Cook is
also the only English player to score more than 10,000 Test runs. In the current
England line-up, Root is more than 6000 runs behind.Cook belongs in exalted
company. But perhaps the most stunning thing about his career is that it has
taken him fewer than 11 years to achieve all these records. Thats less than half
the length of Sachin Tendulkars Test career. If Cook plays for as long as
Tendulkar did, he will play nearly 300 Test matches, score nearly 24,000 Test
runs and 66 Test hundreds, provided he maintains his current rate. At the end,
hell be a very tired 45-year-old man.As Misbah-ul-Haq has shown, its possible
for an experienced player to be capable of Test-quality play after the age of
40.For the 192 players whose careers have lasted as long as Cooks has so far,
the median number of Tests played is 67. Cook has averaged one Test every 29
days during his career. Among players of comparable longevity, those who come
closest to this are Mark Boucher (34 days per Test) and Rahul Dravid (35 days
per Test). Tendulkar played a Test once every 44 days during his career.Until
the turn of the century, the player who most resembled Cooks unusually high
frequency of Test caps was Allan Border, who averaged a Test every 36 days.
Border played about ten Tests per year during his career. Cook has played 12.5.
Until Cook came along, the fastest player to 133 Tests was Boucher and it took
him nearly 21 extra months. If Tendulkar had played Tests at the rate that Cook
has, then he would have ended up with about 75 career Test hundreds. At first
glance, these are doubtful extrapolations. In the case of elite Test batsmen
(such as all those who score, say, at least 5000 Test runs), it can be safely
assumed that they do not lack the quality to be regular Test players. Further,
the evidence suggests that it is extremely difficult to be an elite regular Test
player. We can therefore safely assume that barring injury, the risk of one of
these elite players suddenly losing the ability to score runs at Test level is
small.Injuries are far more likely to interrupt their careers than selection
troubles. Michael Vaughan suffered from chronic injury problems that almost
certainly curtailed his Test career. Ravi Shastri played 80 Tests for India and
scored Test hundreds in England, Australia, West Indies and Pakistan in the
1980s and early 90s and yet played his final Test before his 31st birthday
thanks to chronic injuries.But injuries are rare in the case of pure batsmen.
Test cricket remains that rare sport in which exceptionally skilled specialist
batsmen remain extremely valuable to Test teams even if they are no longer
fleet-footed in the outfield.The difficulties England have faced in trying to
replace Andrew Strauss at the top of the Test batting order illustrate just how
hard it is to find a quality Test batsman. Since Strauss retirement in August
2012, Nick Compton, Michael Carberry, Alex Hales, Adam Lyth, Sam Robson and
Moeen Ali have averaged 26 at the top of Englands order. The search for an
opening partner for Cook continues with Ben Duckett.Root has been Cooks most
successful opening partner since Strauss, but hes too important in the middle
order to be considered.Cooks position as the most prolific English Test
run-getter is unlikelyy to be seriously challenged in the near
future.dddddddddddd Among his contemporaries, only Pietersen and Ian Bell could
challenge him and neither is likely to play for England again.Root will probably
break many of Cooks records eventually, but Cook is only 31. If nothing else,
Root will face stiff targets. Whats more, Cook has already been through a
prolonged slump, which most players who enjoy long careers invariably have to
endure at least once. Root will have to endure his own slumps.Over 134 Tests,
Cooks career is marked by two outstanding series performances. He made 766 runs
in Australia in a five-Test series in 2010-11, and 562 runs in a four-Test
series in India in 2012-13. These two series account for just over 12% of his
career Test runs and a quarter of his career Test hundreds to date in about 7%
of his Tests.Of his other five Ashes series, only one, the 2015 series in
England could be considered a moderate success. Cook made 330 runs at 36 in this
series. The other four series brought him 1020 runs in 20 Tests at 26.5 with a
solitary century. His two South African tours have produced contrasting returns
- 287 runs at 41 in 2009-10, and 184 runs at 23 in 2015-16. His home series
against the visiting South Africans have been similarly contrasting. He made 329
runs at 47 in seven innings without a century in 2008. In 2012 he made 195 in
six completed innings - 115 of those came in one innings. Cook has had a happy
time in India. His Test debut in Nagpur (60, 104*) was a triumph. After this it
took him a further 17 innings to reach a century against India. When he did, it
ended at 294, his highest Test score. That innings, like so many of his marathon
masterpieces was marked by unerring judgement outside off stump and extremely
disciplined treatment of length.When India toured England in 2014, Cook had been
through a couple of low-scoring years by the standards of an elite Test player.
He did not make a century in that series, but it was clear that his slump was
past him. Since that series, apart from a lean tour to South Africa, Cook has
been his old prolific self.For all of Cooks accomplishments, it will take a
brave cricket fan to select him to an all-time post-World War II England XI
today. Is he a better Test opener than Gooch, let alone Hutton or Boycott?What
is remarkable about Cook is his age. When Misbah was 31, he had played a grand
total of five Test matches. He had never captained Pakistan. Steve Waugh made 20
Test hundreds after his 32nd birthday. Dravid, Tendulkar and Brian Lara made
more than 5000 Test runs after they turned 32. Lara had, arguably, the best
phase of the Test career after he turned 32.Following Englands triumphant tour
of India in 2012-13, there was a great deal of discussion about the near
inevitability of Cook breaking Tendulkars all-time record for Test caps, Test
aggregate and Test hundreds. While his subsequent slump silenced these
discussions, his recent recovery ought to prompt a rethink.If Cook plays 200
Tests, then, provided he does not suffer a slump of the kind Tendulkar suffered
over his last 20 Tests, he should be mighty close to Tendulkars all-time
aggregate. Tendulkars 51 Test hundreds will be more difficult for Cook to
surpass than his aggregate. To play 200 Tests at his current rate of 12.5 per
year, Cook will have to play for another six years. He will still only be
37.With the exception of Pietersen, recent England captains - Atherton, Nasser
Hussain, Vaughan, Paul Collingwood and Strauss - have retired in their mid-30s.
Pietersen and Alec Stewart are the exceptions, each for very different reasons.
If this pattern holds, then 200 Tests will remain a doubtful landmark for Cook.
But as things stand, Cook could end his career having attained or just about
crossed most of Tendulkars all-time milestones. It will be a gargantuan
achievement if he does. But even if he doesnt, Cooks place in the history books
is assured. ' ' '
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