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 journey Adil Rashid blog Bairstow targets bigger tally Ballance set to keep place Ryan Ellis Jersey .Y. -- Marcell Dareus and the Buffalo Bills defence made life miserable for Super Bowl MVP Joe Flacco. Mattias Ekholm Predators Jersey . -- The Sacramento Kings are set to become the first major professional sports franchise to accept Bitcoin virtual currency for ticket and merchandise purchases. http://www.authenticpredatorspro.com/Craig-smith-predators-jersey/ . -- Arizona knocked off some quality opponents, rolled over a few overmatched ones and grinded out victories even when things didnt go so well. Yannick Weber Predators Jersey . "It doesnt get any better than that," Giambi said. "Im speechless." The Indians are roaring toward October. Giambi belted a two-run, pinch-hit homer with two outs in the ninth inning to give Cleveland a shocking 5-4 win over the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night, keeping the Indians up with the lead pack in the AL wild-card race. Colton Sissons Predators Jersey . Ibaka equaled a career high with 20 rebounds, adding four blocked shots and 15 points as the Thunder smothered the Milwaukee Bucks offence in a 92-79 victory Saturday night. Heisman Trophy winner Rashaan Salaam was found dead Monday night in a Boulder park less than two miles from Folsom Field, where he carved his name into the University of Colorado record books as one of the greatest players in the programs history.The Boulder County coroners office was still investigating the cause of the death of the 42-year-old Salaam, who won the Heisman in 1994. The body of the one-time running back was found at Eben G. Fine Park in Boulder. Police say foul play was not suspected.Salaams mother, Khalada, told USA TODAY Sports on Tuesday that police said they suspect he killed himself. They said they found a note and would share that with us when we get there, Salaams mother said.Dave Plati, associate athletic director at Colorado and a close friend of Salaams, said the former Buffaloes star never let on that he was hurting : When you were around him he was just the same old Rashaan. You know, effervescent, jolly, go-lucky, smiling all the time, doing things for other people.There was just no way to tell Salaam had these kind of demons inside him, Plati added. I was as close to him as anybody and loved the guy ... and wish I could have noticed or done something for him or wished that he would have called me.Salaams death stunned the Colorado football community which this year celebrated a revival with a 10-3 record, an appearance in the Pac-12 championship game and the Buffaloes first bowl bid in almost a decade.You talk about a young man who was smart, handsome, talented. He was very, very gifted. He was humble. He was a team guy, Bill McCartney, who coached Salaam from 1992-94, told The Associated Press.McCartney remembered Salaam as a natural leader.His personality was infectious. He just had a warmth about him, a genuineness about him that was really contagious, McCartney said. On the surface, he had everything. We thought he was a cut above, and he turned out to be.Former teammate Matt Russell, now the Denver Broncos director of player personnel, said Salaam was a fiercely loyal friend, the ultimate teammate and the very definition of a winner.He practiced hard, he played hard and he made our teams better, Russell said. My heart goes out to Rashaans mother and his family. They have a lot to be proud of with the person that Rashaan was, the way he treated people and the friend he was to everyone he came across. He will be missed by so many.Salaam rushed for 2,055 yards and 24 touchdowns as a junior in 1994, leading the Buffaloes to an 11-1 record, a win over Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl and a No. 3 finish in the final polls. He won the Heisman in a runaway.I went to New York with him, McCartney recalled. I was thrilled for him. Im pretty sure hes the only Buff that ever got that award. When we recruitted him we knew he was special .dddddddddddd.. he just kept getting better.His work ethic was renowned. Former teammate Blake Anderson cant forget how Salaam used to lift weights with the offensive linemen, because thats how strong he was, and how dedicated he was.We were blessed with an incredible team and love for one another, said Anderson, who was a receiver on the 94 team that also included fellow receiver Michael Westbrook and quarterback Kordell Stewart. It was just an awesome, awesome experience to have the magnitude of the players that we had on that team, not only for their abilities to play football, but their abilities to love and be great friends, which we all are currently today.We are all hurting tremendously today.Salaam was one of the nations most prized recruits coming out of eight-man football at La Jolla Country Day, a private school in San Diego. His father played freshman football at CU in 1963 before transferring to San Diego State to be closer to home.When we recruited him and got him to commit, it was huge, McCartney said. We knew that he was going to distinguish himself. He was very highly recruited. I can remember how happy we were. He lived up to all our expectations. He was a tough kid, he was rugged, he had great acceleration, great athleticism.The Chicago Bears made him a first-round draft pick in 1995, and he rushed for 1,074 yards and 10 touchdowns in winning NFC Rookie of the Year honors.Injuries cut short his career. He only scored three rushing TDs in the next two years in Chicago and played his last NFL game with the Cleveland Browns in 1999. Salaam played for the Memphis Maniax of the defunct XFL and attempted one last comeback with the NFL before retiring.He was the only Heisman Trophy winner in the state of Colorado, Plati said. That could have been a burden in later years because he kind of felt he didnt have the great professional career that should have followed that. But that doesnt matter, its what you did to win the Heisman and hes an icon in college football. Only 70 players or so have won the Heisman Trophy and hes one of them.Salaam fell on hard times after his playing career ended. In 2011 he auctioned his Heisman ring.I dont understand that, McCartney said. You talk about a kid that on the surface had everything. He was a real handsome guy, he was intelligent, he was personable. You couldnt really point at him and see any deficiencies.---Associated Press writer Sadie Gurman, Associated Press videographer Peter Banda and Associated Press photographer Brennan Linsey contributed to this story.---More AP college football: http://collegefootball.ap.org ' ' '