Black Caps skipper Brendon McCullum says England captain Cook is second only to Don Bradman on current form.
In the build-up to the second Test between New Zealand and England, Kiwi captain Brendon McCullum has heaped praise upon his opposition skipper.
McCullum was full of compliments for England’s 28-year-old leader and said he was nearly as good as legendary batsman Don Bradman.
“I thought we bowled reasonably well to Cookie the other day, obviously he is a genius batsman,” McCullum said on Sky Sports.
“Where he’s at in his career at the moment is as good as anyone who has played the game probably, barring Bradman.”
To be compared to the great Australian is praise indeed for Cook, whose century against New Zealand on Sunday was the 24th of his career.
The opener has also scored four hundreds in his first five Tests since becoming captain and is currently at an average of 49.60 from his 88 Tests.
Cook is someway off Bradman’s record however. The Australian legend is regarded as the best batsman in Test history and he finished his career with an average of 99.94 from 52 Tests.
McCullum will be hoping his comparisons of Cook and Bradman do not come true when the two sides start the second Test of the series in Wellington today.
New Zealand had the better of the opening Test, reducing England to 167 all-out in their first innings and only a solid batting display led by Cook in the second innings saved the match for the visitors.
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