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At Mirpur, Alastair Cook will captain England for the 54th time in Test cricket, equalling Michael Athertons record. While that is still some way short of Graeme Smiths record 109 Tests in charge, it is still a notable achievement.Some players have thrived on captaincy - Graham Gooch being a classic example. Gooch averaged 58.72 in his 34 Tests when captaining England, highlighted by his memorable 333 against India at Lords in 1990 - one of his 11 centuries when in charge. When he was in the ranks, that average dropped to 35.93 with nine centuries in 84 Tests.Michael Vaughan was Englands premier batsman with an average of more than fifty in Test cricket when he took the reins, but he relatively struggled when combining the role of captain and run-scorer and averaged just 16.75 in his last five matches in charge: Michael Vaughans record with and without the captaincy As captain 51 Tests Average: 36.02 In the ranks 31 Tests Average: 50.98 Perhaps unsurprisingly for someone who just seems to keep rolling along, captaincy hasnt really affected Cook at all. He started in a blaze of glory, setting a record by striking centuries in his first five matches as captain - against Bangladesh in 2010 standing in for Andrew Strauss - and India in 2012, but his overall record is remarkably similar: Alastair Cooks record with and without the captaincy As captain 53 Tests Average: 47.84 In the ranks 81 Tests Average: 46.36 Michael Atherton won 13 of his 54 matches in charge, losing 21 and drawing 20. He was unfortunate to have 15 Ashes Tests against a very strong Australian side in that mix - he won four and lost nine of those matches. By contrast, Cook has won two Ashes series as captain and only lost one, but has a 6-7 losing record thanks to the 5-0 thrashing in Australia in the 2013-14 series.Looking more closely, Cook has been a tad unfortunate with the toss in his matches in charge. He has won the toss 24 times (45 per cent), choosing to bat 15 times and to bowl nine times and has lost the toss 29 times. Atherton was even more unlucky, winning just 23 of his 54 tosses (43 per cent). Cook has won the toss 45 per cent of the time in his time as captain In all, 26 captains have led their side at least 40 Test matches. Recent England captains seem to be habitually unlucky with the toss. Nasser Hussain ranks 25th on that list with a success rate of just 42 per cent, Athertons 43 per cent is only just above him with Cook level with Michael Vaughan on 45 per cent.Andrew Strauss somewhat bucked the trend with a success rate of 54 per cent and top of the pile is Englands leader in the 1950s and 1960s Peter May, who won an astounding 66 per cent of his tosses (27 out of 41). Maybe times are a changing. Cook has elected to bowl nine times, which has equalled Strauss England record. In contrast, May chose to bat 25 times and bowl only twice, despite having the likes of Trueman, Statham, Bailey, Laker and Lock to call on. Ray Illingworth only bowled once in his 15 won tosses in the late 1960s and early 1970s.In terms of wins, Cook is level with Strauss and just two short of Michael Vaughans record of 26 victories when in charge of England and he could close that gap still further with victory in the second Test at Mirpur. Most victories as England Test captain Captain Played Won Lost Drawn Michael Vaughan 51 26 11 15 Alastair Cook 53 24 17 12 Andrew Strauss 50 24 11 15 Peter May 41 20 10 11 Mike Brearley 31 18 4 9 Nasser Hussain 45 17 15 13 Michael Atherton 54 13 21 20 With home series against South Africa having spelled the end of his three predecessors in charge (Hussain in 2003, Vaughan in 2008 and Strauss in 2012) it remains to be seen how many more Tests in charge the Essex man will have, but given that he is still only 31 and seems to still have an insatiable appetite for Test cricket, all indicators are that he will be around for a long time to come.You can watch Premier League and EFL Cup football, plus Englands tour of Bangladesh and the Mexican Grand Prix on Sky Sports. Upgrade now and enjoy six months at half price!Also See:Cooks captaincy journeyAdil Rashid blogBairstow targets bigger tallyBallance set to keep placeAdam Pelech Jersey . 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Cheap Adidas NHL Jerseys .J. Jefferson has been charged with assaulting his girlfriend.KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Cardinals manager Mike Matheny could have come up with more promising road trips than one against the red-hot Cubs and World Series champion Royals, with a long flight to Seattle smashed right in between.The fact that St. Louis won five of eight left him grinning like a schoolboy.Thats a good trip. This was a tough ask, Matheny said after an 8-4 victory over Kansas City on Tuesday night evened their four-game, two-city series. This has been a tough month, a lot of games on the road.Just about everybody in the Cardinals lineup contributed to the offense, while Michael Wacha (4-7) allowed four runs over six bumpy innings -- he served up nine hits and three walks.His bullpen nearly gave away the win, too: Seung Hwan Oh loaded the bases with one out in the ninth before getting pinch-hitter Alex Gordon to pop out and inducing Eric Hosmer into a routine fielders choice.I dont want to put the team in that situation, Oh said through a translator.Meanwhile, Yordano Ventura (6-5) allowed seven runs on seven hits, three walks and a hit batter in 5 1/3 innings for Kansas City. Ventura had only allowed one run over his last two starts, both of which came before an eight-game suspension for his role in a benches-clearing brawl during a game June 7 in Baltimore.As if things werent bad enough for Kansas City, Lorenzo Cain grabbed his left hamstring while trying to beat out an infield hit in the seventh inning. The All-Star outfielder left the game and declined to speak to reporters in the clubhouse, though he was walking without much of a limp.I wish I had an answer for you but it doesnt happen that quick, Royals manager Ned Yost said. Well have an MRI soon as they can get him in. Well determine how much fluid is on it and what the extent is.The cross-state series shifts to St. Louis for two more games beginning Wednesday night.Ventura actually breezed through the first inning on just 12 pitches, but trouble came promptly in the second. He gave up threee hits, walked two and Yadier Molina, Kolten Wong and Greg Garcia drove in runs.ddddddddddddHe appeared to settle down over the next couple innings before more trouble hit in the fifth.Matt Carpenter started it with a homer to center, the 48th allowed by a Kansas City pitcher this month -- the club record is 51 in May 2006. Matt Adams added a sacrifice fly later in the inning to make it 5-2.Venturas night was done in the sixth, when another hit and walk brought Yost ambling from the dugout. Carpenter provided an RBI double and Brandon Moss and Matt Holliday made it 8-2 before reliever Brian Flynn finally got the Royals out of the inning.Kansas City tacked on two runs in the bottom half before its comeback collapsed in the ninth.We had some opportunities. We capitalized in the second inning, Yost said. We had a couple of more opportunities. We made it exciting in the ninth inning, but couldnt make anything happen.YOURE OUTTA HEREPlate umpire Tim Timmons tossed Royals RHP Edinson Volquez from the bench during the third inning, though it was unclear what prompted the ejection. It was the second time Volquez has been ejected in his career.ROSTER MOVESThe Cardinals activated C Brayan Pena (left knee surgery) from the DL and designated C Eric Fryer for assignment. Pena signed a $5 million, two-year deal to backup Yadier Molina but has not played this season.TRAINERS ROOMCardinals SS Aledyms Diaz had no structural damage after fouling a ball off the ground Monday night that ricocheted back off his forehead. He experienced blurry vision in his right eye and visited the hospital after the game, but manager Mike Matheny said Tuesday that Diaz should be back in a few days.UP NEXTRHP Carlos Martinez takes the mound for the Cardinals while Kansas City counters with Volquez on the mound at Busch Stadium. Martinez is 3-0 in his last five starts. ' ' '