Alastair Cook is England's leading run scorer

Alastair Cook has passed Graham Gooch to become England's leading Test run scorer.

The 30-year-old reached 32 on the second day of the second Test against New Zealand at Headingley to overtake Gooch's mark of 8,900, which has stood since 1995.

England captain Cook is playing his 114th Test, having made his debut in 2006.

The left-hander stands 13th on the all-time list of Test run scorers. 

Only one current Test player - Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara - is ahead of Cook on a chart led by India great Sachin Tendulkar with 15,921 runs.

Essex batsman Cook scored a century on his debut against India, the first of 27, also an England record.

He made 766 runs on the Ashes tour of 2010-11 as England won the Ashes down under for the first time in 24 years.

Cook was made Test captain in 2012, leading the team to a successful Ashes defence in 2013.

But that summer was also the beginning of a slump in form, the opener subsequently going almost two years and 35 innings without a Test hundred.

In that time, Cook also faced pressure to stand down as captain, with a 5-0 whitewash in Australia being followed by the decision to end Kevin Pietersen's international career and a 1-0 home series defeat by Sri Lanka.

He showed glimpses of a return to form as England fought back to beat India 3-1 and, although he was removed as one-day captain after a three-year reign in December 2014, Cook's wait for a Test century ended against West Indies in May.

Cook immediately followed that with 162 in the first Test win against New Zealand at Lord's last week to move within touching distance of Gooch's record.

Before the Headingley Test, Cook said he did not believe he is a better player than long-time batting mentor Gooch.

"I wouldn't put myself anywhere near in his class," said Cook. "Certainly I wouldn't be here without Goochie's help.

"There will only ever be one Graham Gooch and he is England's greatest batsman."