'it’s a pleasure to be a part of his team'
A series win against the West Indies is always special and it was a huge relief to have got over the line on the fifth day at Old Trafford after some dogged resistance from the West Indies.
We actually bowled really well on the last day and put the balls in really good areas and it did get closer than we would have liked in the end! It's full credit to the way the West Indies played, especially Chanderpaul who was exceptional and can count himself unlucky not to have got nearer to our target.
He’s the reason we won the series
Monty Panesar bowled fantastically and was the difference between the two sides. He's the reason we won the series. There was no more deserving guy for man of the match and I'm really glad he's playing for us! He's been a proven match-winner and rarely puts a foot wrong with the ball.
As for myself, I'm really happy with the way I played again. I was disappointed to have missed out in the first innings once I was well set but I was delighted to score another hundred in the second innings and I'm hitting the ball really well at the moment. As I've said before, I would have liked to turn it into a big hundred and it's disappointing to have come out the wrong side of an LBW decision but Aleem Dar had an extremely difficult game at times. Some of the decisions were extremely hard to call and I got the benefit of the doubt in my second innings on one where even 'snicko' was inconclusive. There were so many LBW decisions that we were convinced were absolutely plumb in the field until we saw them again on the replay. Who'd be an Umpire!
I’m hitting the ball really well
A lot has been made of the fact that I'm the youngest Englishman to score six Test centuries but to be put in the same bracket as Tendulkar and Bradman is well above my station if you ask me! Records are not something I think about at the moment and I've just got to keep doing what I'm doing and scoring runs. I suppose it's something I may take stock and look back at after my career's over but all I'm interested in now is looking forward to the next innings.
One man who does deserve all the plaudits is Michael Vaughan for his record of the most successful English Test captain. It's well deserved and his record of 8 Test series wins out of 11 speaks for itself. He's had a seriously good group of players around him but he really has managed to get the best out of them and it's a pleasure to be a part of his team.
" to be put in the same bracket as Tendulkar and Bradman is well above my station "
Next up it's Durham and I'm in the car driving up as we speak It's140 miles from Manchester, which is a seriously long way! I've actually only played there once but, from what I've heard, it should be a good, true wicket. We've got Hoggy back for this match which is a huge plus. You look at him and Steve Harmison and they've got 450 plus Test wickets between them and work really well together.
We've just got to keep winning and setting new benchmarks. We've dominated the series and I do think 3-0 would be a fair reflection. Having said that, the West Indies have come in for a lot of undeserved flak in my opinion. They're really not a bad side, have been depleted by injury and have played some good stuff, especially at Lord's.
But we're on a high at the moment and have a lot of players really beginning to hit top form. If we carry on where we left at Old Trafford, I see no reason why we can't complete a 3-0 series win.
Alastair Cook.
12th June, 2007
