Rory Burns Becomes The First England Opener To Reach 1000 Runs Since Sir Alastair Cook In Test Cricket

England opening batsman Rory Burns reached a significant landmark early on the second day of the first Test in Southampton between the hosts and West Indies. The crafty left-handed opener passed a tally of 1000 runs in his brief Test career of 16. Rory Burns became the first England opener to do so since Sir Alastair Cook to cross 1000 runs in Test cricket and did so in the 19th over by taking a single off West Indian captain Jason Holder.

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Former English captain Sir Alastair Cook is arguably one of the best opening batsmen in the longest format of the game. The Gloucester-born opening batsman has 12472 runs in 161 fixtures at a healthy average of 45.35 alongside 33 centuries. However, England could not find potent opening partners since Andrew Strauss. The three Lions tried the likes of Nick Compton, Michael Carberry, Mark Stoneman, Sam Robson, and Keaton Jennings but none could remain consistent and cement their spot.

As for Rory Burns, the Surrey batsman made his debut in November 2018 and socred over 1000 runs at 34.79, managing two tons. One of those came in New Zealand while the other arrived in the first Test of the 2019 Ashes series. The stylish southpaw looks to be one of the most solid openers that England has produced over the years.

Rory Burns dismissed for 30 as England plummet to 51-3:

At the time of writing this, the West Indies reduced the hosts to 56-3 after they elected to bat first. The first day completed after having bowled only 17.4 overs due to persistent rain as England dragged themselves to 35-1 with Joe Denly and Rory Burns at the crease.

However, in the space of eight overs, they lost Denly and Burns for 18 and 30 to Shannon Gabriel. The swing bowler also claimed Dom Sibley’s wicket on the first day for a duck. Zak Crawley and stand-in-captain Ben Stokes are at the crease.

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