May 282012
Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook passed 5000 runs together on Monday as England beat West Indies by nine wickets in the Trent Bridge Test to take the series. With Strauss having rediscovered his batting rhythm, Simon Hughes, in the Telegraph, writes about the most prolific batting combination ever in English cricket. Opening pairs set a tone in a dressing room. If they are nervy in their behaviour and hurried in their movements, it sends an apprehensive message to the waiting batsmen. Strauss and Cook generally exude confidence and transmit a…