Top 5 Knocks by England's Alastair Cook against Australia in Ashes

Ashes series has always been exceptional in the game of cricket. The players from England and Australia will give their all in the series to lift the urn. Meanwhile, it is also unique for the fans of either country, as emotions are related to it. Both the teams achieved success under various skippers over the years. One such captain for England was Alastair Cook.

As Alastair Cook announced his retirement, let’s look at the top five knocks played by Alastair Cook against Australia in his Ashes career so far.

Also, the former England captain had won a couple of Ashes under his captaincy, and a couple more in total.

Here are the Top 5 knocks by Alastair Cook in Ashes series –

5. 148 at Adelaide in 2010

It was the time when the emotions were flaring pretty high in between England and Australia. Both the team prepared well enough to seal the victory for the team. However, Kevin Pietersen and Alastair Cook had other ideas.

After the heroics of Anderson with the ball, Alastair Cook and Kevin Pietersen ran riot at Adelaide. They both knocked sensational tallied for England to outsmart Australians in their den completely.

Though the Test match is well remembered for Kevin Pietersen’s double century, it was Alastair’s Cook 148 which completely changed the things for England. Despite losing Strauss early in the innings, Cook stood firm to tire Australian pacers.

He played 269 deliveries to score 148 runs with the help of 18 fours. Meanwhile, Australia never made a comeback in the game, as they failed to cross England’s tally thus handing England an innings and 71 runs victory.

4. 116 at Perth in 2006

There were a few knocks which never gets enough recognition, as it comes in a losing cause. One such knock was Alastair Cook’s 116 at Perth. It was a terrific century by Alastair Cook when the pitch is purely supporting the bowler.

It was the game that was purely dominated by the Australians. The England batsmen never looked like tackling the Aussie bowlers. However, Alastair Cook stayed tall at the crease to fight solely for longer hours.

Earlier, it was Michael Hussey who scored crucial knocks for Australia in both the innings of the game. In first innings, he scored an unbeaten 74* while in the second, he finished with a century to put a massive total on the board.

Despite the game beyond England’s the reach, Alastair Cook played his heart out to defend the game, However, none of his partners gave him the required help to defy the odds. He played 290 balls for his 116 by standing 389 minutes at the crease.

3. 189 at Sydney in 2011

Once again, it was Alastair Cook who dismantled Australia with his exceptional batting at the top-order. He smashed a beautiful 189 at the historic venue Sydney to seal the deal for the visitors in Ashes series.

The match once again started with England bowlers rattling through the defence of the Australians. However, the insult to the injury for Australia came when Alastair Cook easily tackled the moving ball on Sydney Soil.

He smashed a brutal 189 off 342 deliveries to give a solid start for the team. His exceptional innings was backed by Ian Bell and Matt Prior who scored centuries at late down the order to post a massive total on the board.,

In reply to England’s 644, Australia never really came back into the game, as they finished handing England a delicious innings and 83 runs victory. It was a sweet victory as it came during the important phase of the series.

2. 235* at Brisbane in 2010

It was one of the memorable matches to cherish for Alastair Cook. His incredible double century paved England a way to rattle Australians all the way to lift the trophy. It was the series when Cook finished as the leading run-scorer as well.

It was indeed special knock, as it came in the second innings of the game when Australians looked firm in the game. Initially, England was all out for 260. In reply, Australia scored 410 runs with a huge lead on their side.

However, Alastair Cook, Strauss and Trott never panicked, as they smashed beautiful tallies to their name. In particular, the stylish southpaw, Cook smashed an unbeaten 235 runs to set the massive target on the board.

From the chance of winning the Test match to Australians lost the plot and was returned the dugout with a drawn game. The draw helped England to take away the series with them while returning home.

1. 244* at Melbourne in 2017

Another scintillating knock from Alastair Cook flourished in the recently-concluded Ashes series. Though the outcome of the series hasn’t gone in England’s way, personally, Cook played one of his best knocks.

While replying to Australia’s 327, none of the England batsmen stood tall facing the Australians. However, the veteran came to the party who tackled the likes of Hazlewood, Starc with an utmost concentration.

Despite losing out the partners at the non-striker end, Alastair Cook hung in the crease for almost 634 minutes, He carried his bat by knocking 244 runs in the total of 491 runs.

However, England bowlers led the effort from England down, as Australians played handsomely to take the game to a draw. The draw furtherly helped Australians to bag the series. Despite all, it was a scintillating stuff from Alastair Cook.