Chris Adams Column: Alastair Cook is a great - so let's make sure he is fully appreciated

The England captain passed that landmark as his country wrapped up the 2-0 series win over Sri Lanka.

And yet I still wonder whether the England skipper and his international colleague Jimmy Anderson are fully appreciated as the greats of the game they are.

Yes, 10,000 runs and still there are people out there – players, supporters, media – who question not Cook’s place in the team, obviously, but what his legacy will be.

To me, his achievement is another example that you do not need to have all the tools, all the frills, to be a legend in the game.

What he has done can be held up against the greats of the game. True, he is not the most attractive player to watch but this is a performance-related environment.

There are skills such as determination, concentration, discipline, resolve, character. These are all qualities which should be taken into account.

The other thing you must remember is that nearly half his Test matches will have been played in England. That means conditions which by and large favour seam bowlers.

We have kept our Duke ball status because it gives a bowling advantage over the opposition.

With years still ahead of him, he is very much up with the greats but he will probably not get the recognition until he retires.

He won’t get mentioned along with Tendulkar, Lara, Kallis or Sir Viv Richards, all batsmen with wonderful, attractive games. But he has put numbers to it.

He has discipline, control, resolve and, in my book, he deserves to have that leading status.

He had a couple of years where runs were tough to come by and the relief when that ended was felt by a great many people. I think people recognised what he had done and what he could do in the future.

Precious few cricketers don’t go through a period when they have a low run of form. It’s testament to him as a character that he has come through a turbulent time as captain and overseen some turbulent coaching and selection changes.

I’d love him to achieve a Test century or two this summer.

It’s the same with Jimmy Anderson.

He has to be right up there as one of the most successful seam bowlers who have played the game. Watching him bowl this week was a pleasure because of his wonderful skills.

His control of the seam, his swing and a pace which is more than enough at international level.

From the moment the ball leaves the hand, Jimmy reminds me a lot of Sir Richard Hadlee. I’m talking about the control of the ball, movement both ways, trajectory with which it goes through the air, the same presentation of the seam, the same control of the wrist.

Of course they are very different in terms of run-up but so similar from the moment the ball leaves the hand until it gets to the batsman.

He too, once he retires, will take his place in that group of what people regard as the greats.

Glenn McGrath is up there. He had a very simple game but was immensely disciplined.

But, if McGrath can be held up like that, Jimmy Anderson more than gets in there too.