NAGPUR, March 1: England opening batsman Alastair Cook was elated and feeling “weird” after scoring a fluent 60 on his Test debut against India on Wednesday.

“If you had said a week ago this would happen, I would probably have laughed,” he told reporters. “It is a bit weird, but the best way is to get into it rather than think about it.”

The 21-year-old batsman was rushed into the side from the ‘A’ tour of West Indies after captain Michael Vaughan was ruled out with injury and opening batsman Marcus Trescothick pulled out for personal reasons.

“Sometimes opportunities come and you’ve got to try and take it,” Cook said.

He has yet to shake off the effects of jet lag after flying halfway across the globe.

“I still wake up in the middle of the night for a couple of hours.”

Although he batted overall with great assurance, Cook began nervously. “The dream to play for England - you will feel nervous. It was nice to get out and score a few runs.”

Cook is grateful for the mentoring role of former England captain Graham Gooch, now the Essex head coach.—Reuters