Cook more talented than KP: Anderson

LONDON: England fast bowler James Anderson feels team mate and in-form batsman Alastair Cook is more talented than the flamboyant Kevin Pietersen.

Cook has had a dream run in Ashes so far, scoring 766 runs with three hundreds. His record is only second to Wally Hammond's effort of 905 runs during the 1928-29 series.

The southpaw became only the second batsman in 40 years to amass 600 plus runs in a Test series in Australia. Former captain Michael Vaughan was another one to reach the milestone in the 2002-03 series, which England lost 1-4.

"Cooky has more than 600 runs in the series, so it's pretty obvious he's talented. He's probably more talented than KP," Anderson was quoted as saying by The Sun.

"KP is so naturally gifted with the shots he has and Cooky does not have that. He relies on the shots that get him runs and his mental toughness to get him through."

"He has been fantastic on this trip, especially as people were questioning his spot during the summer. He has shown what a player he is," Anderson said.

"Cooky has huge character, huge talent and there were no doubts in our dressing room he would perform out here," he said.