PITCH
Luck needed to score century at the Wanderers
Mean Machine batsman Jimmy Cook knows what it takes to score a ton at the Johannesburg grounds
No one knows more about scoring centuries at the Wanderers than Jimmy Cook‚ the quintessential Mean Machine batsman. In his 173 innings in first-class matches there between December 1972 and February 1995‚ Cook made 14 centuries. More often than not‚ he did so opening the batting. Cook thus batted at the Wanderers in more than a third of his 475 innings in a first-class career that took him to 48 different grounds. He averaged 37.91 at the Wanderers. His overall mark was 50.58 and everywhere but the Wanderers it was 61.69. He was‚ then‚ more than 60% more successful at other venues than at his major home ground. So‚ what does it take to score centuries at the Wanderers? "Luck! Luck! Put it down to good luck‚ a lot of luck‚" Cook blurted from behind a chuckle on Tuesday. "I scored more than that at Somerset in three years — I batted on a decent wicket." Not quite. Cook racked up 13 centuries at the County Ground in Taunton between April 1989 and September 1991. But in only 44 innings...
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